Kiwi Lime Pie

Kiwi Lime Pie

Have you ever had Key lime pie before? I sure haven't had the daring taste buds to do so. When you think of limes your taste buds automatically enhance the taste of something bitter, tart, and mouth watering. In order to have this delicious indulgence be not to bitter we equal the ratio with something sweet like kiwi and vanilla wafers, "I really like the flavor that using vanilla wafers in the place of the traditional graham cracker gives the crust, and kiwis are extra sweet to equal the bitterness that you get from the limes" (Yearwood, 191). 

"Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a food processor, pulse the vanilla wafers into crumbs. Add the sugar and melted butter and pulse until fully combined. Press the mixture firmly into an ungreased 9-inch pie plate, Set aside. 

First, in a medium bowl, whisk together the condensed milk, lime zest, lime juice, and egg yolks. Pour the mixture into the crust. Bake for 30 minutes. (The center will still jiggle.)

Then, remove from the oven and cool on a rack for 30 minutes. Top with kiwi slices. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before serving" (Yearwood 191). 

Question: Do you any dishes that will make your taste buds dare to try something bitter but yet sweet? 

Yearwood, Trisha. "Kiwi Lime Pie". Trisha's Table: My Feel-good Favorites for a Balanced Life. NYC, New York: Clarkson, 2015. 191. Print. 

Recipes: 

(CRUST)

- 1 (11-ounce) box of vanilla wafers (I like Nilla)

- 1/2 cup of sugar

- 1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter, melted

(FILLING)

- 2 (14-ounce) cans of sweetened condensed milk

- 2 teaspoons freshly grated lime zest

- 1 cup Key limes juice (12 Key limes or 4 large regular limes)

- 8 large egg yolks, at room temperature, lightly beaten

- 4 - 6 kiwis, peeled and sliced thinly 

Passing to the Correct Foot

Soccer is filled with little big things and passing to the correct foot is a very important skill to obtain. (Blank, 14) Many plays are turned around not due to the defender but to passing to the wrong foot. To play at a high level a smart player must know their teammates strong foot and when to pass it to their strong or weak foot depending on the pressure being given. When passing you must evaluate the situation, where a player can turn with little pressure with success. (Blank, 16) You need to be able to quickly examine pressure and adjust to it then release your pass where you player can then further the play.
Passing to the correct foot is very important. If you pass to the wrong foot where they have pressure there is a chance the defender can step in or your players can turn into the defender. But passing to the right foot can greatly impact the play. Often players know their teammates and know their strong foot. Identifying their strong foot and where the pressure is at are two of the things that a good pass has. (Blank, 17)

Here is a video of me passing to a player that has pressure. See I play her to the foot on the other side of the pressure and it is her strong foot. these two things will help continue the play.

Do you know your teammates strong/weak foot or any other dominant and weak parts of your teammates on your team?

Making Your Own Geocache

I am SO excited for this post because my dream has been to make a geocache of my own that random cachers can enjoy! This is one of the most important pieces of information you may gather from my blog, creating your own cache takes many steps to success. Responsibility is a required technique for owning your own cache. "As the owner of the geocache, you are ultimately responsible for it, so make sure you know the rules for the area where you place your cache," (The Editors and Staff of Geocaching.com 98).

The very first step in creating your geocache is highly needed, LOCATION!!!! You must go on to Geocaching.com and make sure your cache location meets the correct requirements list available. Consider these questions when deciding on a location, "Did you consider accessibility?" "Did you seek permission from the landowner or manager?" "Will the location placement cause unnecessary concern?". Also, make sure your cache is at least a mile away from other caches so that hunters don't get confused. For my cache I choose a medium sized box and hid it in my front yard behind the power box.

Once you have figured out the location you desire, "...save the coordinates as a waypoint. You will need to consult your GPS user manual before leaving home to learn how to save a waypoint," (The Editors and Staff of Geocaching.com 102). A waypoint is the coordinates of your cache to show fellow Geocacher where your cache is located when they are looking for it, and to tell them how close they are to the cache. Sadly, I don't have a GPS so I won't be making the geocache at this time, but I will still continue with the steps provided. Once you locate your waypoint and record them for later use, you are going to perform the next step in the process, which is recording all your information and sending it in to the Editor's and Staff of Geocaching.com so that they can approve/help you find improvements in your cache. Here is an example of my information:

You need to include all this information, and possibly more if needed in order for headquarters to judge your caching ability. After you send in this portion, it is time to wait! Geocaching.com will send you an email with proper instructions or suggestions for continuing.

"You will be notified by e-mail when your geocache is published; thereafter, you receive emails every time someone logs your geocache," (The Editor's and Staff of Geocaching.com 105).

Congrats!! You are an official Geocache owner once you have completed these steps. You only have one thing left to do, care and feeding of your geocache! I know right, feeding?? "Have a look when you can to make sure it is in good condition and stalked with trackable items," (The Editor's and Staff of Geocaching.com 106). As an owner you must check up on your cache keeping it updated and healthy for everyone available. Geocaching helps give back to the community and I hope you can enjoy making one of your own as much as I did.

Question: Where would you place your personal Geocache?

The Full-Shot Swing: Starting Back

The backswing alignment of any golf swing is very important to what kind of shot you will see a golfer hit. According to most golfers, and personal experience, when the clubshaft is parallel to the target line, it results in a great straight shot. What does it mean when the clubshaft becomes parallel to the target line? In short, it is keeping the arc of the clubhead in a constant relationship to the target line back and through your swing. You always want to swing the clubshaft to a horizontal position at the top of the backswing to maximize the perfect hit. Many golfers, including myself, have a hard time keeping the club parallel to my line, instead many golfers point their club to the right or left of the target at the top of their swing which causes problems "because the forward-swinging path reciprocates the backswing path and delivers the clubhead across not along the target line during impact" (Nicklaus, 102).

If you tilt your head to the right, you can see that I am demonstrating a swing where my clubshaft is is parallel to my target line at the top of my backswing (it is hard to see at this angle).

If you tilt your head to the right, you can see that I am demonstrating a swing where my clubshaft is pointing to the left of my target at the top of my backswing (it is hard to see at this angle). Because it has the slight point to the left it will cause me to hit away from my target line. This type of swing is not recommended.

Why do you think not being parallel to the ball on the backswing

affects the path the ball travels?

Effect of Suspicion - The Expert At The Card Table

One of the most amazing things that the book, The Expert At The Card Table, offers is that it not only describes magic tricks and techniques but also goes into the theory surrounding performing magic. One of Erdnase's most interesting ideas is the "effect of suspicion."

Erdnase states that "to be suspected of skill is a death blow to the professional" (Erdnase 24). Erdnase believes that magic is only surprising and truly entertaining when doubled with shock factor. When a spectator suspects that you are good or that something magical WILL happen they pay close attention to all of your moves and they aren't truly baffled when you finally reveal the climax of a trick.

I know this idea very well. With being a child magician, I learned very soon that many people won't take you seriously. It was because of this that I think I had a lot of success in entertaining friends and teachers when I first started. They thought that the trick I would show them would be very common and skill-less, and when I showed them something actually astounding they were TRULY astounded. However, for years I just continually showed tricks to my friends at school and my teachers. Too much of it made people think I was actually good and they became suspicious of me during every trick. This developed the "effect of suspicion" that Erdnase writes about on me and it totally hurt my performing. I never wanted to show magic because my peers no longer were entertained by my magic since I was now suspected of skill.

Last year, I began performing on the streets of Pike Place in downtown Seattle. It was due to this change that I overcame the suspicion effect. By performing in front of strangers I got rid of people knowing that I was good at magic. The typical spectator would see a 15 year old kid standing in pike place and perhaps chuckle and watch me perform not expecting much. These types of people were my prime audience because they were actually surprised because their preconception of me was altered.

Performing in front of friends is no longer as rewarding. Since reading The Expert At The Card Table, I now know why. This book already has shown me many ways to improve my performance. And just one I learned from Erdnase's concept of suspicion is that I should only try performing for strangers.

Erdnase, S. W. Expert at the Card Table: A Treatise on the Science and Art of Manipulating Cards. Chicago: Frederick J. Drake, 1905. Print.

Kanzashi In Bloom: Assembling a flower

Before assembling a Kanzashi flower, there are some basic things to know and consider. Having the right size of flowers is key, "Interestingly, the size of fabric square you use to fold each petal will be the same size s your finished flower" (Gilleland 28). Surprisingly enough, if you make your petals from 4 inch squares, the finished flower will be about 4 inches in diameter. Another key thing is to consider how many petals you are going to need. You can make the flower with any number of petals you like, but generally the larger the flower, the more petals you will need. The author advises, "More petals provide more stability, especially with larger flowers" (28). It is not the same case with smaller petals though. For example, "A two inch petal looks lovely with six petals, but ten petals would be quite crowded" (28).




1. Keep a steady hold on one petal, poke the needle through the base. The needle should be about 1/8" away from the edge of the petal and centered across its width.

 

2. Pull the thread through the petal. (make sure the petals are all facing the same way and in the order you want them in)

3. Repeat steps 1-2 with the remaining petals, until they are all strung side by side on the thread like beads.

4. Cut the leading end of the thread to remove the needle. Tie the two ends of the thread in a double knot. (Be careful not to pull the string too tight as the petals will need to be readjusted a few times to make a perfect circle)

5. Cut the loose ends of the thread off.

What is one thing you've made that you were so proud of?

Volleyball Conditioning - Power

Hi all! For my third blog post regarding the book Complete Conditioning for Volleyball by Steve Oldenburg, I will be mentioning a way to help you develop lower body explosiveness which you can use to help generate more power, faster (Oldenburg 113).


I will be teaching you the correct form of knee tuck jumps. It is very basic and easy, and most of you have probably done them during some point of your life. However, doing this exercise as a part of your workout routine can help you get quicker, faster, and more powerful. For example, doing this consistently would really improve your vertical jump.


To start off, "stand upright with the feet hip-width apart," (Oldenburg 138).


Then, jump high into the air and bring your knees up to your chest (Oldenburg 138).

As soon as you come back down, immediately jump again so there are no resting breaks in between the jumps.


A common mistake mentioned is when people let their feet, ankles and knees get out of line. So keep in mind to not do any excessive movement with your legs and feet when you jump so you can do this exercise correctly and efficiently to achieve results.


After doing this myself, I can see how this can really help someone's vertical after all the repetition. Doing longer sets without a long break can really mimic the effort used in a game and can therefore help performance.


Why do you think it's important to keep your legs and feet in line and not going out while you jump?
Let me know what you think in the comments below!




Oldenburg, Steve. "Power." Complete Conditioning for Volleyball. Champaign: Human Kinetics, 2015. 113, 138. Print.

Drawing from Life

A traditional exercise for a portrait artist is the study of life like how shadows and lights move, and critical aspects of a smile (Thomas 22).

In this post I'm showing you all my attempt of drawing Jhene Aiko! From my previous posts, I was learning about the different techniques artists typically use when drawing a portrait, so I thought I should apply those techniques in my drawings as well. While working on this portrait I often found myself blending in a lot of parts of this picture, but first starting out with cross-hatch marks because it works more efficiently for me.

Some of the challenges I have faced were not knowing where to shade to make the face look more 3-dimensional since Jhene Aiko's face is naturally really clear, as in not having many wrinkles since she's young. This made my drawing look extremely one dimensional which isn't what I'm striving for as far as how I want to improve my drawings. So instead of shading a lot of areas on her face, I decided to stick with shading in her cheek bones and her eye make-up, under her lips, and around her neck to make her look alive. 

 

What are your thoughts on portraits of older women, or men? Do you think it would be more difficult?

Thomas, Joy. The Art of Portrait Drawing: Learn the Essentials Techniques of the Masters. New York: F+W Media, 2012. Print.

Isabelle's Crepes

Isabelle's Crepes

Lemon zest, lemon zest oh my what lemon zest could do for a meal. One of the many beneficiaries of lemon zest is they help prevent cancers and to help regulate your blood sugar. Don't mind the sweet indulgence that you are about to consume, your blood sugar will be all right thanks to the lemon zest combined in Isabelle's infamous Crepes. Trisha never thought what lemon zest could do for such a sweet indulgence, "The thought of putting lemon zest in a breakfast crepe is far more than what I thought could taste in such a sweet crepe" (Yearwood,27). Putting the lemon zest in the mixture really brought out the sweetness of the crepe.

"Lightly grease a crepe pan or a shallow saute pan with oil or butter. set aside. 

First, in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, eggs, butter, and lemon zest. Slowly add the milk continuing to whisk. The batter should have the consistency of cream.

Then, heat the greased pan over medium heat for about 1 minute. Using a 1/3-cup measure, pour the mixture into the pan. Tilt the pan to be sure the batter spreads out evenly over the bottom in a thin layer. Cook for 2 minute, or until the crepe is light brown on the underside (check using a spatula to gently lift up on edge of the crepe), flip to cook the other side for 30 seconds more. Repeat with the remaining batter. Serve topped with fruit of your choice, or as i prefer, just a sprinkle of confectioner's sugar" (Yearwood, 27). 

Lemon zest, lemon zest oh might what lemon zest can do for a meal. What I've learned from putting lemon zest in crepes is how the lemon zest really makes the sugar and the fruit toppings standout in such a delicious morning meal, and what a great way to wake up your taste to no other than Isabelle's crepes. So is it really the truth is in the pudding or is it the truth is in the crepe?

Question: Would you dare to put something  so bitter and tart into something sweet? If so, comment down below! :) 

Yearwood, Trisha. "Isabelle's Crepes." Trisha's Table: My Feel-good Favorites for a Balanced Life. NYC, New York City: Clarkson, 2015. 25. Print. 

Ingredients:

1 cup of all-purpose flour

1/2 cup of sugar

5 large eggs

1/4 (1/2 stick) of salted butter, melted

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest

2 cups whole milk

Fruit and confectioners' sugar, for serving

Receiving with the Proper Foot

Receiving a pass with the correct pass is vital in high pressured game, when using the correct foot you can keep it from the opponents reach and set your self up to see the field and move. A smart player should ask themselves three questions before receiving the ball; which foot will help me get out of pressure? Which foot will help me carry on the play? Which foot will set up my next pass? (Blank, 13) You want to take your touch away from pressuring defenders. You need to be prepared to take your touch and play the ball within 1-3 touches because often you aren't going to get more time then that. (Blank, 13)

My coaches always say these little things like receiving a ball to the correct foot is what changes the game, those little things all add up to keeping possession in a high pressured game. Once I got a new coach the first thing she taught us was to open up with your foot where you can see the whole field. This concept is very simple yet improves your game greatly.

Here is an example of opening up with the correct foot when you get played a ball to the wrong foot.

This will improve your game greatly. By opening up you can see the whole field and open your hips to the field.

What is an example of a little thing that makes a difference in another sport?

Cleaning and Irrigating a wound

When out in the wild there are many potential dangers present and help may come later than expected. I have gotten plenty of cuts and scrapes while out in the woods but I never go out without a first aid kit or at least some isopropyl swabs but the majority of people go without them. Cleanliness is key to not contract infections that could make matters quite worse. With limited supplies out in the wild, you may use common items to clean out a wound or gash. With the Weiss improvised technique you can treat the wound on the spot with a plastic bag and purified water.

"Fill a plastic sandwich or garbage bag with disinfected garbage water and puncture the bottom of the bag with a safety pin or pointy knife." (Weiss, 83)

"Hold the bag above the wound and squeeze the top firmly to begin irrigating the wound" (Weiss, 83)

This method is very effective at cleaning out any dirt and bacteria from a fresh wound. "The moment skin is broken, bacteria begin to multiply inside the wound, and any blood or damaged tissue left behind will create a feeding ground for hungry germs"(Weiss, 82). With this method, the high-pressure stream gets rid of as much dead tissue and bacteria in a moments notice and greatly decreases the risk of infection. How have you handled injuries with limited resources and what resources were available to you?