Fireflies.

   I've got this song in my head and the video is sort of awesome so I wanted to share. :3 Poor Liz has to study for a chemistry exam, and I should really get to bed. Somehow I manage to procrastinate from sleeping even when I have no Pinterest to go on (I'm taking a break for Lent).
    What have I got to say? I'm currently attempting to write a review on this "book," Vampire Academy, by Richelle Mead. I thought I'd be able to whip up a snarky one, but it's taking longer than I thought. That's probably because, whilst trying to get my thoughts down on figurative paper, I realized that this book is much, much worse than I had even imagined. I can hardly bring myself to give it a fair trial.
    I shall now, without further procrastination (probably) go feed my cat. She's wearing the death look again. I might even stay awake long enough to read Code Name Verity (which is, I can assure you, much better than the aforementioned book).

   I apologize for the bloody awful photograph. 'Ponine the iPod is tired. So am I, I suppose, and Liz's Salisbury Steak recipe made me slightly hungry (at 11:00 at night?!). It is a good thing indeed that it wasn't accompanied by a picture. Farewell for now!

- Elly

Salisbury Steak!

By request of Elly, our blog needs to be more diverse.

So here I am, making it diverse with...

*brumbrumbrumbrum*

A RECIPE! :)

My mom is making Salisbury Steak tonight for dinner. It is DELICIOUS! It is The Pioneer Woman's recipie (I don't know what it is, but a lot of moms like her. Me AND Elly's moms both like her). SO! Here it is! It is super good!! :)

Salisbury Steak

Total Time: 35 min

Prep: 15 min

Cook: 20 min

Yield: 6 servings

Level: Easy 

CATEGORIES

Beef Main Dish Steak


Ingredients

Meat Mixture:

1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
1/2 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon ketchup
2 teaspoons dry mustard

4 dashes Worcestershire sauce

1 cube beef bouillon, crumbled (or powdered beef base)

Salt and pepper

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

Gravy:

1 whole onion, halved and thinly sliced (or diced if you prefer)

2 cups beef broth, more if needed for thinning

1 tablespoon ketchup

1 teaspoon seasoning sauce, such as Kitchen Bouquet, optional

4 dashes Worcestershire

1 teaspoon cornstarch, optional

Salt and pepper

Directions
For the meat mixture: Combine the ground beef, breadcrumbs, ketchup, dry mustard, Worcestershire sauce, bouillon and some salt and pepper. Knead until all combined. Form into 4 to 6 oval patties, and then make lines across the patties to give them a "steak" appearance.

Fry the patties in a skillet with the butter and oil over medium-high heat on both sides until no longer pink in the middle. Remove from the skillet and pour off any excess grease.

For the gravy: Reduce the heat to medium and add in the sliced onions. Stir and cook until golden brown and somewhat soft, for several minutes. Add the beef stock, ketchup, seasoning sauce, if using, and the Worcestershire. Then combine the cornstarch with a little beef broth and add to the sauce if using. Stir and cook to reduce.Add a sprinkle of salt and pepper and more broth if needed for thinning. Then return the patties to the gravy. Spoon the gravy over the top and let them simmer and heat back up for a couple of minutes.

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/salisbury-steak-recipe.html?c=linkback
Viola! It's amazing!!

EXCITEMENT IS IN THE AIR!

First, I will say happy St. Patrick's day! I am wearing green fyi, (no pinchy!). Even my cat, Caramel, got into the spirit!

    

  

That was a lot of pictures spaced randomly onto the page.

Anyways! EVEN BETTER NEWS!!!

 

THIS MOVIE IS ON DVD TOMORROW AND I AM FREAKING OUT!!! AHH!!!

Also, (on the note of movies)

This movie comes out on friday:


And a new trailer for this movie (which I am really excited for) comes out tomorrow!:


It is just a month of movies!! Happy St. Patrick's Day! (If you're not wearing green, I shall virtually pinch you!)

Frozen, the two-time Oscar-winning Best Animated Movie of the year!

You heard me right, TWO OSCARS!

 
Let the celebration begin!!

I am super proud of Disney and this amazing achievement but let's be honest, Frozen totally earned it. I mean seriously, none of those movies were even close! They won for best original song AND best animated feature!!

I was a bit bummed that Get A Horse didn't win best animated short film, but my sorrows were erased when I heard them announce Frozen not once, but twice, for Oscar wins. 

Congratulations everyone who helped make Frozen possible, you guys are great!



Look at Olaf celebrating his Oscar win :)

P.S. - Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, I totally agree that there should be a Frozen two! (If you didn't see it, watch their acceptance speech when Let it Go won best original song) :)

The Oscars

The Oscars (Academy Awards, whatever you desire to call them) are on tonight! I particularly love the Oscars because they deal with movies which are something that I love! They're on ABC (I think) tonight. 

So, anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE Disney's new movie Frozen (on DVD on March 18!! So excited!) and it just so happens that Frozen is not nominated for one, but TWO Oscars!

Yes, I'm serious, Kristoff. 

They have been nominated for Best Animated Picture and Best Original song. Im my opinion, they don't have much competition (knock on wood) and I think that they deserve to win both! 

Don't know what this guy's problem is....

Anyways, let's keep our fingers crossed that Frozen can pull out all of the stops and win two Oscars!

P.S. Did I mention Idina Menzel is performing Let it Go live? I'm just gonna watch it to see that!!

In Which Ellie Narrates Her Week In Gifs and Oddity

    Elly reporting in from her breaching-messy room in a state that isn't apparently a state because certain Americans hold to the fact that there are only 49.
    I shall hence record the events of this week, starting with the morn' of February 24th. A Monday. Like most Mondays, I started early and ended late and felt extremely accomplished with life and school.

   Then I woke up on Tuesday and sort of realized that I had an entire week of school left. After much of this:  

   I finally ended up here and sat on my bum for the rest of the day (although, I did thoroughly enjoy History class as per usual)

   I shall skip the majority of Wednesday because I had to sit through Biology, which is pretty much a class where I retain this attitude until noon:

   BUT THEN I HAD TAG (Teen Advisory Group ((for the library))) and we rehearsed Marvin K. Mooney and the Butter Battle Book and I'm really excited about the entire production and I GOT TO TRY ON THE CAT AND THE HAT COSTUME and next week is the dress rehearsal. Imagine me - excited about a play!

   

   Yes, and then THURSDAY happened. My mom went to have her eye checked out. You read her blog, so you know what's up. It didn't fall out. Matt and I were home alone from 7am until 6:00 and we miraculously managed to get almost EVERY bit of our school done amidst much flapdoodle.

   We are still trying to get Thor 2. Since the day it came out we've checked at least twenty redboxes. It is ridiculous. IT'S NEVER THERE. We did get Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2 to watch. It has my approval, for a sequel. San Franjose, California. Bwahaha. Best part next to "THERE'S A LEEK IN THE BOAT!"

   AND THEN TWAS FRIDAY. I love Fridays. I had guitar class and I'm learning to play that song from Treasure Planet (which, Liz, you said you hadn't seen?).... You should see it. The movie is fantastic. Her's the song link---> "I'm Still Here," by John Rzeznik.
    Then THIS MORNING I had an essay.... I'd post it on here if I thought you were interested in reading about how Gilded Age industrialism affected American farmers and factory workers.

   I do good, though. Now I wait in suspense for it to be graded. Tomorrow I have to wake up early and go to church. The rest of the day will probably see me being forced into yardwork. I should go to bed now. My cat thinks I need to sleep. Pph.

   I would perhaps mention that I spent the better part of Friday evening crying over a Doctor, but let's not go into that. I shall hope to post again soon! I like the new design, Lizzy. XD FAREWELL.

Imagining how much cooler I'll be in summer...

Get your sunglasses, swimsuits, and flip flops...summer is approaching! I am feeling a bit like Olaf right now (I just love the idea of summer, and sun, and all things hot!) so much so, that I actually have a summer countdown on my computer. 

Sad. I know. 

But who can blame me? This is my third year of high school (Read: torture) and who doesn't love the idea of summer? There is 111 days, 7 hours, 14 minutes, and 25 seconds until summer, just as an fyi. 

(here's the link if you're crazy about summer like I am: Countdown to Summer)

I know it's March 1st, but I am getting crazy summer fever (I know I'm not the only one). I mean just look at this picture of Olaf getting a gorgeous tan! 


#JealousOfaSnowman

I am so excited for summer, look at what I made! (I didn't take the pictures, but I edited them and added the words):

My sister said they sound like pick-up lines but whatever! Also here's a cool pic from Surfing Magazine:

  

Only 111 days...keep telling that to yourself if you're as excited for summer as I am...