Philly Cheese Steak!

Tonight, I managed to cook Philly Cheese Steak Sandwiches for dinner. The moment I saw a package filled with whole boneless steaks in the freezer, I knew I had to do something special with it. I deviated from the recipe a bit (using the stove top instead of the oven and leaving out the peppers), but I thought it turned out just fine. Besides, the others in my household gave it rave reviews.

Finally, I managed to complete this folded wonder for a coworker of mine. It has deep red cardstock with a black vine texture, plain black as a border, and special white with faded text print for the cones. It's a marvelous piece of work. My only issue while working with it was that the red cardstock began to crack when folded, revealing the white underneath. My quick-fix solution was to simply color the whitened sections with a red marker. The effect is so subtle that you wouldn't even know it had been damaged.

Remember when I said I had started writing in my journal? I'm still writing, almost every day since that one evening when I just felt this overwhelming desire to write. It's felt remarkably therapeutic, and I've finally found a coordinated way to organize my thoughts at the end of the day. Perhaps after a time of writing for myself, I might feel compelled to write stories and such for others. Only time will tell.

I Think I'm Obsessed with Lemon Drops.

Seriously. My best friend's mom decided to give me these Claey's Brand lemon drops, and I can't stop popping them in my mouth. Good thing they're cheap, or I would start suffering from withdrawal.

Last night I decided to write in my journal. It had been nearly a year since I last put an entry in, and the one before that was also a year. I'm not entirely sure what compelled me to write in my journal. I will admit the need to write and draw had been building up for some time without fail. What pushed me over the edge was an article on this webcomic. I feel that a lot of what it says not only applies to drawing, but writing as well. The most important lesson learned is "Stop hating on yourself." That one line was what pushed me over the edge and forced me to write like my life depended on it. I probably would have continued had my headache and exhaustion not overwhelmed me.

Granted, my written journal and my online journal are different for one major reason: only one contains thoughts I'd never make public unless I knew I was ready.

Update a few minutes later: Listen to this song by the Dandy Warhols. It always makes me feel good for reasons I cannot comprehend.

Writing and Doggies

I've been bit by bit teaching myself to write in a new style. I'll have to admit that my old style was cramping up my hand quite a bit, and it always positioned my hand so that it gathered ink and pencil lead across the whole page. The new style I plan to use takes quite the strain off my fingers. Not to mention I've been trying to utilize both my hands, so that I can write in any position I need to. It will take some time, but I'm willing to work for it.












To close, I've got some pictures of our dogs, Sunshine and Honey. Honey's the chihuahua/terrier mix, and the short, hairy black patterdale is Sunshine. Gotta love how Honey's got her front leg propped up and Sunshine has her front paws crossed like a proper lady. It's little traits like that that make me and my friend CardialJoe wonder what their human personalities would be like. I always imagined Honey like Sarah Silverman, and Sunshine secretly more like the announcer from "Team Fortress 2".

A Hard Lesson Learned

When you were a kid, did you do something horrible without realizing that it would happen? And when you got punished for it, did you feel a kind of injustice like wondering why you're being punished for your own naivete? Such is the case with these two boys. You can read the story for yourself, but I'll summarize it for you:

While playing in the bathtub with their Beyblade toys, they accidentally scratched the enamel on the tub so terribly that it broke off in large chunks. With repairs totaling $500, the parents saw fit not only to punish them by draining their savings, but also by selling their entire Beyblade collection on Ebay.

When I first read this article, all I could focus on was the older brother's sobbing face in that picture. I guess I'm empathizing a little too much with the children, but it's terrifying when you know you've gotten into more trouble than you can handle. A few of the comments for the article expressed this same sympathy, even detailing personal experiences. I remember one such experience; not so much as damaging personal property but certainly injuring someone else. Maybe I'll talk about it sometime.

But herein lies the question that I had pondered and continue to pick apart even now: Does this punishment fit the crime? More specifically, is the punishment inflicted appropriate or is it too extreme considering the naivete of the children involved?

I feel that the punishment is appropriate and invaluable. Actions in life have consequences, no matter what you know about the circumstances. The lesson learned isn't necessarily fair, but then again neither is life. And I'd rather my children know that they will have to take responsibility for their actions instead of simply removing privileges for a week and going on as though nothing had happened.

That's a little bit too much thinking for an event that, as one of my friends put it, "they won't even remember in 10 years."