Ellipsis...

Fact: I love the ellipsis. The what? Yes, the ellipsis.

Wikipedia says it was originally used to indicate that something was being omitted. But I'm pretty sure I use it for that about once every 100 times I use it. Wikipedia also says that it is used "to indicate a pause in speech, an unfinished thought, or, at the end of a sentence, a trailing off into silence" (which has its own name: an aposiopesis.) I would say I use it most often as an aposiopesis actually. Wikipedia says an aposiopesis is when a sentence is "deliberately broken off and left unfinished, the ending to be supplied by the imagination. ... This device often portrays its users as overcome with passion (fear, anxiety, excitement) or modesty." (Hey, look! I just used the ... to omit something!)

I love that. I love all that an ellipsis/aposiopesis stands for! The ... can transform a sentence. Take it somewhere that it couldn't go with a simple period. There is something so abrupt, so final, about a period. But an ellipsis... an ellipsis allows room and time, creates space for imagination and emotion... I love that! (Ok, so the ... may be tied with the !, just sayin'.)

I was just thinking the other day about how much I use the ol' ... and how much I enjoy it. Afte some research (I mean, I googled it, Wikipedia popped up first, and I read a few sentences...) I love it even more. So here I am, blogging, about my love for a punctuation mark ...

(Fact: I bet you're wishing I would have used the omit function of the ellipsis so this post wouldn't have been so long. Am I right?)

On the Nature of Daylight

For some reason, I can't get enough of this song right now. It's one of those songs that I can just listen to, close my eyes, and be overtaken with emotional without a word being said. I feel like the song, and the title, go well with this post from the other day. It's by Max Richter called "On the Nature of Daylight." It makes my heart happy...

Here's a video of the song put to dance... It's pretty beautiful.

Cakes for Cory/Corrie

I've had the opportunity to decorate some fun cakes the last week. Last Sunday, we celebrated my good friend Corrie's graduation from college. She was a psychology major so she wanted something with a brain on it.

Yesterday my brother Cory graduated from high school. I'm sure you've heard me mention Cory's mad graphic design skills many a time. Well, Cory and I have talked recently about how we think it'd be cool if we worked together to design some cool cakes. So Cory designed his own graduation cake, and I was the one who baked and decorated it. It took way longer than it should have (as it always does...) but I'm pretty happy with the final product.

Anyway, congrats to my two favorite Cory/Corries! You guys are awesome...

Fancy (Cheese)cake!

I've been wanting to make a fancy cake for quite some time... but it seems like all of the cakes that I've made lately have had to have some kind of theme, or were for a boy, or something, so I haven't been able to. Well, tonight, I finally got to make my fancy cake. It actually was a cheesecake, but it was fancy/pretty and so my heart is happy.

I made it for my brother Cory's prom tonight. Instead of going out and spending lots of money on a fancy meal, his prom group had a meal catered in at his girlfriend's house. Perfect idea, if you ask me. And I was lucky enough to be able to contribute to their dessert. I made this Strawberry Cheesecake by Annie from Annie's Eats. Hopefully it tasted delicious... verdict is still out.

Here is the fancy cheesecake and the even prettier couple: two of my favorite people, Cory and Erica. (P.S. Props to Cory for my new spring-like blog design!)

Heaven-like.

I think the ol' blog is way overdue for a seasonal makeover. The drab look that was perfect for winter, is now quite depressing compared to how green and alive everything is outside. I was looking through some old pictures that I've taken to find something a little more spring/summer appropriate to help Cory in his design of a new header and came across this picture...

Basically, when I think about what heaven is going to be like, I imagine it to be something glorious like this scene. I know heaven is going to be more magnificent than anything my brain could even conjure up, but if it's anything like this.... I'd be totally content.

Joy the Baker.

I love Joy the Baker. She makes me smile. Who is this baker named Joy, you ask? Well, she has a baking blog that I read, and I kind of love it. Very few baking blogs do I take the time to read what they blogger has to say. I peruse the play-by-play pictures and skip straight to the recipe so I can see what kind of ingredients it uses and how involved it is. But not with Joy's blog... she's great. I'd like to think we'd be friends if we met in real life. Maybe in another life. ("See you in another life, brotha." Name that show.)

She's funny. She's creative. She's a little different. And I think she may love Jesus. Don't you think we could be friends? I do. Most importantly (at least in the realm of baking blogs), she's a great baker. Here are some of her recipes that I have tried out and give two thumbs up to (I'd give more if I had more than two...)

Strawberry Pineapple Crumble (I mentioned this recipe a few days ago, but if you weren't convinced before, I thought I'd show you a picture to get you extra convinced that you should bake it.)

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes. You know how I feel about chocolate and peanut butter...

Avocado Pound Cake. Jessie and I made this last year... It turned out a bit... interesting, but I think I'd like to try it again.

Ok, so, after looking through her recipes to highlight some here, I realized I haven't baked and loved as much as I thought I had because she's a bit of an eclectic baker/cook. BUT, I still think she's great. And mainly because of this recent post she wrote about Turning 21. It was great. You should check it out. And if you're an eclectic baker, you should check her out.

Pie.

I don't really love pie. I think it is because generally pies are filled with two things I really don't care for: 1. mushy fruit (which I'm actually slowly warming up to, because recently I baked this Strawberry Pineapple Crumble and I loved it), 2. mushy, pudding-y textured nastiness (french silk, lemon merengue, you get the picture...) (And yes, I know, I'm really mature.) There are a few pies that I do like: Toll House Pie (which is basically a chocolate chip cookie inside a pie...), Strawberry Pie (no cooked fruit! the strawberries are fresh...), and the following...

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie! aka One of the Easiest and Best Pies You'll Ever Eat. It's a recipe from The Pioneer Woman and it just makes my heart sing. Why? Because:

1. It's easy. (There are 6 ingredients in it. And the only part you actually need an oven for is the crust.)

2. It's delicious.

3. It's relatively cheap to make.

4. It combines chocolate and peanut butter. (I think if chocolate and peanut butter got together and had a baby they would name it Heaven. That's how strongly I feel about their union.)

5. Like I said, it's a recipe from The Pioneer Woman. I just love her.

Get the picture? You should make it. Now. Also... the reason why I made this perfect pie was in honor of the coolest lady you'll ever meet: my mom. Happy Mother's Day, Momma! I love you so much!

Music Suggestions.

Fact: I love it when people suggest a song or an album or an artist to me because they know I'll like it. Part of me thinks, "Man, Abby, your taste is way too predictable," but the other part of me is like, "Man, Abby, you have a clear picture of what you like and the people around you know it, too." Ok, yeah, the second statement is just a nice way of rewording the first, but who cares? Anyway, lately I have been introduced to some great new music by some great people and it's been wonderful. Thanks to everyone for the suggestions and if you have more... send 'em my way!

Dustin O'Halloran was introduced to me by none other than my stud brother Joel. (Who introduces me to all things cool on a regular basis.) Here is his song "We Move Lightly."

"Comes and Goes" by Greg Laswell was introduced to me by my friend Katie. Good, good stuff. I can't get enough of that guitar and low key vocals.

"Breathe Me" by Sia was introduced to me by my friend Alan. My love for solid piano is no secret and the piano in this song just makes my heart happy. The vocals are a little... raw, but it's an interesting combination, if you ask me.

Great stuff... Thanks again to everyone for thinking of me when you hear music and passing it my way. I really do love it.

Sick Day.

Tuesday afternoon was when I found out the news about my boss. It was all I could do to not cry the rest of the afternoon. (Yep, I'm a crier, that's what I do when I feel any sort of intense emotion, good or bad...) I cried on the way home though and decided that it was time to call in sick for the first time in my life. So Wednesday, I had a sick day... and it was glorious. It truly was a mental health day. And it did it's job. (Well, for the most part, but I did kind of pout all day Thursday and Friday until my boss came up to me and asked, "Are you mad at me?" "No, I'm not mad, I'm just sad, you're leaving me." One of the many things I love about my boss: how in tune to my emotions he is. But let's be honest, I don't cover them up as well as I think I do...)

Now yes, I know, I probably shouldn't admit to calling in sick when I wasn't really sick on such a public forum, but who cares? Everyone does it. Why are we so secretive about it? I called in sick and my body felt fine. My heart was hurting though, so I needed it. My sick day consisted of:

1. Sleeping in.

2. Drinking coffee, listening to a solid message, and chatting with Jessie.

3. Getting a pedicure with Jessie.

4. Eating a yummy lunch at home. (I'm on a veggie burger kick lately...)

5. Seeing a movie, Water for Elephants, all by myself. (Yes, that is the first movie I've ever seen all by my lonesome, and it was much more enjoyable than an extrovert like me would expect.)

6. Baking cookies.

7. Seeing my brother Cory perform in this really funny male beauty pageant thing to raise money for Special Olympics.

8. Watching American Idol. (Word is my favorite Casey got voted off, sad day...)

Anyway, it was a great day... consisting of all sorts of wonderful things, that got my heart and brain back where they need to be. Yay for sick days!

I'm back...

I know, I know... you're getting sick of coming to my blog and being greeted by the same tree every time. I've been a slacker lately. There are a few reasons why...

1. My computer is still out of commission. I thought it was fixed, but it's not, so I need to take it in yet again. I think they should change their names from Mac "Geniuses" to Mac "Kind of Know a Decent Amount of Information about Computers Guys." Maybe I'll take it in this week and have them try to guess, for a 4th time, what is wrong with my computer. Sorry Mac guys, I should cut you some slack, I'm just tired of bringing my computer in and it not getting fixed.

2. I've had a hard past couple weeks. In the past two weeks I've been given the news that my good friends Rob and Corrie are moving back to Portland, my cousins and great friends Julie and Anthony may move to Oklahoma City, and my boss that I love so much took a different position and will no longer be my boss. All of these people are leaving me... And if you know me, you know that people and relationships are my passion in life so things like these hit me hard. So I'm just kind of sad...

There have been some good things that have happened in the last few weeks, and I intend to blog about them over the next few days. Just thought I'd apologize for my absence, explain to you why (I've got to set people straight that I'm not one of those people that is happy all the time, I have hard days, too...), and tell you to expect some posts in the next few days.

As always, thanks for reading...