"we frolicked about in our summer skin"

I love the summer.
It's my absolute favorite season.
The warm weather, the thunderstorms, the freedom of no school,
going to the beach, picnics, laying in the grass, walking barefoot,
bike rides, bonfires, summer camp.
I could go on and on. I also like summer foods.
Zucchini, summer squash, watermelon, lemonade, iced tea,
shish kebabs, pulled pork sandwiches, s'mores, fruit salad, hot dogs.
So many bright colors and fresh tastes. :)
Over the past couple of years, I've really enjoyed cooking and baking.
This year, every break I got from school, I would come home and
make something almost everyday just because I didn't have a kitchen
to use at school. I usually just search things on allrecipies.com, look
through cookbooks, or get recipes from friends.
Today I was looking for something to make for my mom's birthday
next week and found a bunch of new things I want to try.
Every time I make something new, I get more experience and
I get better and better at cooking.
Hopefully one day I can be really good at it. :)
Or at least be able to make a bunch of really good meals.
I've had my fair share of horror stories in the kitchen though.
I tried three different granola bar recipes before I found a good one
and when I tried to make hummus once, it wasn't even close to edible.
Also, one time I tried to make cream puffs and they looked so gross.
But I can make some good spinach cheese puffs
and a bunch of good desserts.
I'm looking forward to making some actual meals in the coming weeks
instead of just desserts. I hope the swelling from getting my
wisdom teeth out doesn't last long,
so I can chew all the things I want to make.
always love,
h

ps- square watermelons??

"the water's warm and children swim and we frolicked
about in our summer skin"-summer skin, death cab for cutie

everybody is free to wear sunscreen/always love

I'm not sure if you follow postsecret or not, but this video was
posted on the postsecret's facebook page.
It's a five minute commencement speech that gives a lot of
random pieces of advice that are interesting and uplifting.
Commencement speeches are so meaningful, but not often heard.
You only graduation once or twice, maybe 3 times in your life.
I had a fifth grade "graduation" a while ago and I was picked to
read a poem I had written.
It wasn't that great, but at the time I LOVED writing and I
wanted to be an author, so I wrote stories and poems all the time.
My fifth grade teacher really believed in me and would always read
my stories and even helped me win a couple contests and get published
in a newspaper. Well she also convinced me to read the poem I had
written about the teachers and students at my elementary school at my
fifth grade moving up/graduation ceremony in front of a lot of people.
I'm pretty sure I was speaking so quickly and quietly
that no one even heard me read my poem.
Although it wasn't quite a commencement speech,
it was the closest I have ever come to giving one.
In my senior year in my AP Lit class, at the end of the year
when we all just wanted to get the heck out of high school, my teacher
assigned us the task of writing a farewell speech.
It was supposed to be kind of like a commencement speech and she
wanted us to incorporate our past, present, and future into it
as well as how we want to be remembered.
It was a really open-ended assignment and everyone came up
with completely different things, doing theirs in different formats
or focusing on different things that influenced them.
At first I had no idea what to do, but that it hit me!
If you haven't realized by now, my life quote or motto or whatever
you'd like to call it, is "always love".
It comes from a song with the same title by a band called Nada Surf.
The song isn't that meaningful to me, but I love the title.
Anyways that motto and my faith were the focuses of my farewell speech
as well as the idea that the decisions we make everyday show
who we are. The speech is somewhat long, but I'd like to post it here.
You don't have to read the whole thing or read it at all.
But I suggest you do watch the video above.
because I really liked it. :)
Anyways, here's my speech that I wrote a year ago
(it's also posted on my facebook notes)...
Life is defined by our choices.
Each decision we make shapes who we are and who we will become.
When we choose how to spend our time, we are forming our values
and deciding what is most important to us.
When we choose who we want to spend time with,
we are deciding what qualities we desire most in our relationships.
And when we choose our dreams and form our goals for the future,
we are deciding who we want to become.
Personally, I have made some big decisions in the past few years.
Concerning my future, I have recently decided to go to
Eastern University in Pennsylvania next year.
This decision was a long process filled with applications, campus visits,
and pro-con lists. My choice to go to Eastern will define who I am
for the next four years and it will help me to
define my future after that as well.
Two years ago I made the decision to travel to Guatemala
to stay in an orphange and volunteer in the surrounding community.
This choice changed me by allowing me to observe another culture
and realize how truly blessed I am to have a biological family
to support and love me. It also showed me that when you give your time
to help another person, you gain so much more in return.
Helping others isn't a sacrifice at all,
it's an experience that teaches you about life
and helps you realize who you are and what is important to you.
The song "Who Needs Air" by The Classic Crime says
"I have come to the realization that life is more than
what we have accomplished. And life is more
than the realization that we have accomplished nothing at all.
True success is selfless." I believe that true success and happiness in life
has little to do with the insignificant accomplishments
that we achieve and everything to do with what we do
to make a difference in the lives of others. I have also made decisions
in the past to forgive those who have hurt me.
I have learned that forgiving doesn't mean that you approve
of what the other person has done or that your okay with their choices,
but instead it means that you have chosen to not allow
their previous decisions to affect you any longer
and that you have chosen to give them another chance.
I have realized that no one is perfect and no one can be,
so forgiving needs to be a way of life and something that we do often.
The most significant decision I have made during my life
was the decision I have made to live my life for God.
This decision has influenced my past, present, and future
more than any other decision I have made.
It has formed my beliefs and values and it has caused me
to set high standards for myself. It has influenced how I spend my time
and what I believe is important. It has even influenced each
of the previous decisions I have mentioned.
Most importantly this decision has given my life purpose.
A verse from the book 1st Corinthians in the Bible says
"If I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love,
I am nothing. If I give all I posses to the poor and
surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing."
To me this means that without love, our lives have no purpose.
Even if you sacrifice everything you own to the point of giving up
your life, if you don't love, then your actions are meaningless.
Love isn't just a feeling, love is truth, and love is hope, perseverance,
and strength in the face of difficulties. Love isn't just the way you feel
towards another person, it is how you act when you don't think
anyone is watching. The passage I read before goes on to define love.
It states that "Love is patient, love is kind.
It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered,
it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil
but rejoices with the truth. It always protects,
always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails."
I believe God is love and love is a lifestyle.
It is a decision I have made to always love because
no matter what I say or do or believe,
it means nothing without love or without God.
So I want to be remembered as someone who strives to always love.
Someone who sees the world and people for who and what
they are and instead of judging them, accepts them and loves them.
Because at our core we are all the same.
We're all humans who encounter pain, love, death, life,
confusion, struggle, and laughter in our lives.
We all learn, grow, and change.
We do things were not proud of and never intended to do.
And we do things we never imagined we could.
We say things we don't mean and
we don't say the things that mean the most.
But at the core of our existence is love.
Love for one another and love for the beautiful things in life;
for truth, for family, for music. Love for being alive.
The founder of the non-profit organization To Write Love on Her Arms,
Jamie Tworkowski, said "I believe God works in love, speaks in love,
and is revealed in our love."
We all make decisions everyday that define who we are.
I believe that making the choice to love and conscientiously making
an effort to love in all situations is the most important and defining
decision in our lives and is a decision that will show others God.

If you made it through the whole thing, thank you.
You deserve a hug. :)
And as always, I welcome your comments and responses.
always love,
h

panera cares

While reading another blog, entitled 'Kindness' I came across

an interesting video and article that I thought I would share with you.
A Panera restaurant has been transformed into a non-profit organization!
Costumers come in, order food, and are given a receipt, but they
don't have to pay the total on the receipt if they can't afford it.
They place the amount of money they can afford into a donation box.
I think this little experiment is fascinating and I hope it's a success.
Imagine if there were non-profit restaurants all over...
people who can't afford food wouldn't have to go hungry.
This all relies on people not taking advantage of the process, though.
I'm interested to see if this organization is still running in months to come
and if the idea spreads elsewhere.
Watch the video , read the article, and let me know what you think!
Also, you should check out the Kindness blog, it's all about ways to
volunteer and get involved. :)
Have a great Wednesday!
always love,
h

If you could do anything...

Google has a contest called 'Doodle 4 Google' where kids in grades
K-12 can design their own Google logo that is focused on
what they would do if they could do anything in the world.
The top 40 finalists are posted online now and on May 27th the national
finalist's design will be displayed on Google.
Here are some of my favorites...

"I would give everyone in the world super fast computers and Internet.
People would become friends. They could help each other.
People will not go to war because they are friends."

" In my mind I see cancer as an unstoppable black mass.

It consumes so much with so little effort."

"I always dreamed of going to space. Well I wondered,
wouldn't it be great if there was a playground our there?
Riding a shooting star, having a hula hoop contest with Saturn,
and having a race to Pluto..."

"Colonizing the moon would provide homes for the homeless."

" I would splatter the whole world in bright colors."

" I would enrich the world with an intense passion for art

and the everlasting joy it provides."

"I want to branch out to gain a strong sense of the world."

"I would end world thirst."
Now you can go vote for your favorites! :)
always love,
h

"escape under the brillant glare"

The chorus at the PS22 school in Brooklyn posts

covers of pop songs on youtube regularly.

Some recent covers include songs by Beyonce, Lady Gaga, and Journey.

This video is of Jarrod Gorbel and the PS22 chorus

singing Jarrod's song, 10 Years Older.

Jarrod was the singer of The Honorary Title until the band broke up

and now he works as a solo artist.

Apparently he went to college with the direcor of the PS22 chorus.

Anyways, you should check out some of the other covers by this chorus.

Their passionate singers and they have fun

with the songs their director chooses.

I think more schools should integrate pop culture into the classroom.

It definately would make things more fun and interesting.

always love,

h

"I know, I know, life's so unfair. We used to escape under the brilliant glare."

-Jarrod Gorbel, 10 Years Older

last post from mexico

The dolphins were pretty awesome.
They're skin is rubbery and smooth.
We got to hug and kiss them, shake ¨hands¨ with them, and
ride on their bellies. And we laid on a boogie board and they pushed us
by out feet! The first five minutes we were watching them do
tricks under the water with goggles, but I got water
inside my goggles and it went in my eyes.
Salt water in the eye does not feel good.
But after that everything went swimmingly.
The company took video and pictures of us, but they wanted
$20 for just one picture! My mom used our camera
and took a video of the video, too.
Maybe when I get home I'll upload that.
After the dolphin encounter we sat on the beach in these cabanas
and drank out of a pineapple!
And we went to a sea lion show where Therese was picked
to be an assistant and got to hug and kiss Carla, the sea lion.
On Tuesday we took a tour of the island.
Here are some interesting facts I learned about the island of Cozumel...

-the island's name means land of swallows
-90% of the population, which is 95,000, works for tourism companies
-the island is 30 miles long and 9 miles wide
-there are only 3 gas stations on the island, all owned by the same man
-the island is 70% undeveloped because
that area is usually hit by hurricanes
-damage to the wild life can still be seen from hurricane wilma in 2005
-there are boa constrictors and spider monkeys on the island, but
they weren't here originally. they were
brought over for the filming of a movie
-from May-Nov. is sea turtle season and if you get caught with
an egg you can go to jail for 3-9 years

Besides learning all that we also visited a beach, ancient Mayan ruins,
a shopping area, and a tequila factory. Tequila is made from fermented
avage azul nectar. I tasted the nectar and several flavored tequilas.
My mom was freaking out because she thought I was going to get drunk
from sips of it. Yesterday we went over to the main land and visited
Tulum, another ancient Mayan ruins site,
bigger than the first one we saw.
We also ziplined, rapeled, and snorkeled in a cavern.
The ziplining was fun and I wasn't afraid because
I did it in Costa Rica before, but I was afraid of the rapeling.
You're hanging by a rope in the air!
But it was fun and easy.
The snorkeling was cool, but I couldn't see much without my glasses on.
Today, were just relaxing by the pool and beach.
Our last day. :(
But it will be good to be at home.
always love,
h

dia dos y tres

The show on the first night was quite interesting.
They called up a lot of guests from the audience and
my mom had to do some funny and embarrassing things.
There were a lot of dances though and the costumes that the dancers
wore were so sparkly and scandalous.
The food here is weird. Some of it is American, but with
a Mexican twist and some of it is just Mexican.
We went to a Mexican restaurant that is on the resort
yesterday and I had no idea what I was eating throughout
the whole five course meal.
We spent most of yesterday by the pool.
Reading, relaxing, drinking, and swimming.
I got a pretty bad sunburn even though I keep putting on SPF 50.
We went to another show last night where they chose 4 guys
out of the audience and made them do a karaoke performance,
an impersonation, a ¨sexy¨ dance, some weird game, and
they each got a minute to see how many people in the
audience they could kiss.
Most of the guys just kissed people's hands while one
guy just kissed the host and another just kissed his wife. Awww.
In about a half hour were catching a taxi to go to
a park where we can swim with dolphins, manatees, and sea lions.
Tomorrow were taking the tour of the island that includes
shopping and a tour of a tequila factory.
They're all about the tequila here.
And then Wednesday were taking a ferry to the mainland
and going to this Mayan Adventure place where we will
zip line, repel, and go snorkeling in these cavern\underground caves.
Also, on that day were going to visit Tulum which are Mayan ruins.
My aunt and uncle are in Cancun and they're going to meet us there.
I wanted to visit this place that is one of the 7 wonders of the world
but its like a 4 hour ride there.
Maybe next time. =)
I think I'm kinda getting used to the keyboard now.
That's all for now. =)
always love,
h