random remarks, rants, and ramblings of me

Misawa Winter Living!

for my Technical Writing class, i was assigned a how-to article about how to enjoy winter in Misawa. this is what i wrote. there is supposed to be column bordering, but it won’t paste that way from Word.

Don’t let the cold get you down!

Make the most of Misawa winter!

Parents/ Pet owners	Fans of the outdoors	Fans of the indoors
Opportunities abound for those with critters of the two legged and four legged persuasion.	Even though the snow is falling, you can enjoy the outdoors just as much as in any other season!	If you prefer the indoors no matter the weather, there are ways to enjoy winter
- The Weasel’s Den is a large indoor recreation center with a giant playground, batting cages, mini golf, arcade games, and soccer “field” for the kids, and bouldering walls, an indoor running track, and a sporting goods store for adults. Winter hours are seven days a week 10AM-7PM, 226-9378	- The Land Memorial Ski Lodge is a great place for fans of snowboarding, sledding, and playing in the snow for kids of all ages! The lodge is Available for renting overnight, and you can call 226-9378 from 10AM-7PM to reserve the lodge year-round.	- Use scraps of fabric or paper and even materials from outside like pine cones and stones to makecrafts that celebrate the winter season, and decorate your home with bright, cheery colors to remind you that the cold and snow don’t last forever!
- There are dog parks around base, andMisawa Pet Kenneloffers pets pampering treatments and Doggy Day Care! Open Monday through Saturday 10AM-6PM, 226-2228	- Swimmers can find refuge at Himberg Pool for laps or free swimming and even lessons for the little ones in a heated, indoor pool. Call 226-9378 for operating hours and more information.	- Start a home business! Scentsy and Pampered Chef are companies many Misawa residents have joined and others have started child care, craft-making and photography businesses.

Visit http://35fss.com/index.html for more information about Misawa Air Base and off base.

My “Me Project” 50/50 list.

a good friend and i have decided to read and follow The Me Project, by Kathi Lipp, and the first step in it is to make a list of 50 things you want to accomplish by the time you’re 50. i added my own twist by separating my goals into things i’d like to accomplish before my next birthday, before I’m 30, 40 and 50. here’s my list!

26

1. Make a nature journal.
2. Lose 45 pounds.
3. Have another baby.
4. Finish Kaelyn’s photo books.
5. Get my external hard drive fixed.
6. Read the entire Bible.
7. Accomplish mission: OCD.
8. Perfect pull-ups/ push-ups.
9. Finish Shenanigans circle photo book.
10. Update my blog.

30

1. Learn French.
2. Learn Bulgarian.
3. Perfect my Spanish.
4. Finish my degree.
5. Learn a dance.
6. Learn archery.
7. Learn about herbal/home remedies.
8. Become a yogi.
9. Write a novel.
10. Get a tattoo.
11. Write/record a song.
12. Learn Sign Language.
13. Learn to rock climb.
14. Learn a martial art.
15. Learn to play an instrument.
16. Learn to drive a stick shift.
17. Develop my own film.
18. Learn to surf.
19. Grow a garden.
20. Change a tire.
21. Ride a horse.
22. Chop wood.
23. Save $10,000.
24. Launch a web site.
25. Sponsor a child overseas.
26. Land a career job.
27. Buy a house.

40

1. Learn sword fighting.
2. Learn Morse code.
3. Take survival training.
4. Earn 3 bachelor’s degrees.
5. Start a charity.
6. Hike every peak in the U.S.
7. Get sniper/gun training.

50

1. Make a movie.
2. Publish something.
3. Fly a plane.
4. Sail a boat.
5. Build a piece of furniture.
6. Teach a college class.
7. Earn a master’s degree.

My first vLog!

i’ve decided to add vlogging to my updates, since it’s so much funner…

http://www.youtube.com/user/crystalinak?feature=mhum#p/u/7/BPN6OrCssjc

here’s the link to the first video, and you can peruse and browse (redundant, yes) at will on my youtube channel. yay!

to-go box ministries…

idea of a charity i’d love to have…

very time i go through the house, cleaning out various spaces, or am feeling particularly generous, or like my house is too full of material possessions, i make what i call a “to-go box.” i fill this to-go box with all items i’d like to get rid of in one way or another, be it selling, tossing, or giving away. this gave me an idea not to long ago, and i’d like to share this idea with you, my readers.

i’d like to get a team together, with a truck/van, and go around door-to-door, giving out cards with nothing more than a website and a pick-up date, with a few instructions. those who would be handing out these cards would tell the recipients about our charity, and ask that they go through their house and purge outdated, need-to-be-reaplaced-anyway items and put them in a box or tote labeled “to-go” and we would then go around each area on said date, picking up these items, then donating those items to the location for that month or week, be it a shelter, orphanage, hospital, etc.

i have often heard from others that they do not give because they do not know where to give. i would be that “where” for them. i’ve also heard from some that they don’t give because they feel that whoever would receive them would waste it, or sell it for money that would go to questionable outcomes. well, i’m here to tell you that it doesn’t matter what the recipient does with the gift. all that matters is that you give. it’s your act that will bring you blessings, not the actions of those who receive them. so there. hence, i give money and food and water to bums. not because i know what they’ll do with it, because i don’t, and i don’t care. i don’t care if they sit there colecting tons of food, water, and money to put to their own purposes, wicked as they may be. no, i give simply to give, as we all who can should.

i say good day.

vanilla craisin peach muffin cake

home/hand made holiday (yes, sometimes i’m PC like that) ornaments made by hand at my home

Introduing Simple Krafts by Crystalina…

Neat little fabric seven-pointed stars (thinking outside the five- and six- star affiliation debate, so HA!) that are available for your monies, just in time for the holidaisies! It takes about an hour to make, and they’ll look nice hanging wherever you decide to put them with your interior decorating rockstar-like savvy!

They are available in any color fabric and/or thread I can get my hands on here, and I’ll post a photo of one, so you get the idea of how much they rock!

I sincerely apologize if anyone else out in the known universe has come up with the same exact idea I have, because I scoured the interweb looking for a similar product and see it nowhere, so I’m assuming it’s an original idealio from up inside my brain… but let me know, so I stop bragging to people, ok?

I’ve yet to decide how much I’ll charge for these little gems, less than ten dollars, obviously. It’s just a matter of what price I want to put on my time, and how willing I am to sustain multiple possible injuries, since making these things involves sharp objects.

I’ll also offer other fabricky ornament-like objects, as in two-dimensional stuff shapes of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa (yea, even Kwanzaa!) and other winteryness, including festivus, ya know, for the rest of us. I even have ideas for the Chinese New Year, and many other holidays, so if you’re Bhuddist, oh yea, I got your bodhi right here, and I even got yule billy goats in the making!

But mostly this seven-pointed star, for whatever holiday or reason you can think of, just because it looks pertty.

Stand by for fotografías (oh yea, biLINgual shiz!), because they’re on their way! As soon as I can figure this click-and-drag-age stuff out….

7-pointed star ornament in hunter and ivory

…there! I did it!

If you’re on the FaceBook, or in it I guess… then this product is also on my Etsy. If not, you can go to my Etsy here…

http://www.etsy.com/shop/crystalinak

This little guy is lonely. For now.

But SOON? epicky epicness will ensue….

out of the not-so-ordinary… recipe!!!!

ok, so i was planning on only posting once a day, but sometimes when an idea not es epic as what i posted earlier comes into my head, i gotta get rid of it or i forget it and it rarely comes back.

so i think i’ll post one of my fav-o-right recipes for you, if you’re slightly (but not too) health conscious, and kiiinda lazy.

1) one 5oz can of tuna. i somehow bought a bunch with vegetable oil in them, which actually turned out to be delish, usually i get the water ones

2) five eggs. i put them in a small pot of cool water and then crank up the stove to high, and exactly fifteen minutes later i have perfectly hard-boiled eggs. LET THEM COOL. i never do, and i always regret it, but hunger makes me slightly stupid.

3) one individual package worth of Ken’s ranch. i don’t know how much it is, but i always seem to have some in my fridge for whatever reason. i also have a bottle, and a good squeeze is about what you want.

4) one individual package of lemon juice. i always have a million of these in my fridge, plus the cute little lemon and lime shaped bottles of lemon and lime juice, plus a gigantic bottle of lemon juice, because my husband and i like lemon juice. a lot. it’s super good for you and it has no sugar and it helps you lose weight! probably half an oz maybe, but it doesn’t matter, use as much as you want you lemon fiend.

5) a tbsp of mustard, because there’s nothing in it but KICK A* flava!

6) and a bit of green chile taco sauce, for a tiny kick. optional of course, as are all these ingredients, just letting you know how i rock the tuna sammich.

now, i usually put all the ingredients except the eggs into a bowl, because that’s about all the time i give them to cool off, because, like i said, hungry me= idiot.

put the ingredients in the bowl in whatever order you like, whether by size or alphabetically because you’re CDO like me (the initials for it should be alphabetized, anyway) or whatever, just get them in the bowl, k? don’t argue.

*sigh* ok, now that they’re in the bowl, a fork is the perfect tool to not only mash up the eggs and mix the mix, but if you make it this way exactly, it will be stiff enough to where you can use the fork to scoop it onto some delish whole grain wheat bread. economically, and scientifically, i just helped you out, technically. three dishes. a small pot, a bowl and a fork. you’re welcome. AND, if you mix it in a Tupperware dish, like i did, and eat it for dinner, you’re EXTRA welcome, because i planted this rockin idealio in your brain soil.

now, pair this amazing culinary feat with some crisp cool lemon water or green tea, and you have lunch. or dinner. oooor breakfast. or maybe even a snack.

enjoy your sammich.

Camp Change For Good “change for the better, for good.”

put an end to blind intolerance….

this is yet another idea i’ve been keeping up inside my brain, that’s been dying to get out, and yes, even keeping me awake, tapping at the back of my forehead constantly reminding me this he (yes, i believe most annoying things that make one lose sleep belong in the male category, jus sayin) needs to be let out, put on paper, and shared with the world.

this is the story of how a dream i had inspired me to attempt to help change the world in the lives of a few teens at a time:

over the next few weeks, i’ll be writing a letter. (so no one can steal my idealio!) i’ve already written the first draft, this morning around one, because, like i said, this thing won’t let me sleep. i need to do more research before i just send off my half-baked but much thought of idea to principals and deans all over the country, which is exactly what i plan to do.

in this letter, i will outline what i think is one solution to a very serious growing problem in america. bullying. now, don’t get me wrong, i know it’s been around since FOREVER, and people used to pick on people for stupid reasons, like being female or black, but nowadays i think helping kids is a lot more easily accessible and if we all work together, in one way or another, we can change the world. i just know it.

i will attempt to write this letter and mail it, (yea oldskool! woot.) and email it to principals across the country. i will also request feedback, so that i can then separate the responses by region, state, all that, and then use that feedback to conduct another surge of letters sent to the businesses in that area, requesting their assistance, whether financially, or bodily (i’ll need a lot of adults) and over the next few years of living here, i expect to be able to formulate which areas in the country have the high schools with the biggest bullying problems and the businesses with the most willingness to help.

i believe that if, amongst the staff at each school, a few students were selected, a few bullies and a few of their favorite victims which just might be in the most danger of getting hurt, or having long lasting internal feeling injuries, that could really use this experience.

then we’ll take those students, multiplied by a few schools, supported by a few businesses and volunteers, out or up depending on the geography, to a camp ground or a similar location. then we’ll change their lives forever.

we’ll enjoy many team building, leadership, and confidence building exercises and activities for both sides, since that’s seems to be the cause of their fates. i want to contact some local and national celebrities that have experience with bullying, ideally at least one of each, who’ve learned from their experience and want to share with the kids some ideas about their behavior.

now, i saw never really bullied, and i was certainly never a bully ( my nearly six-foot frame is completely ruined by the most non-intimidating face you’ll ever see in yo life!), so i know i have a lot to learn, but i do know, and i’ve been thinking about this since waaaay before bullying ever lead to any of these recent suicides, that it’s a serious problem that a lot of people either don’t acknowledge or don’t fully understand (like me) but it’s not irreversible.

after i’ve sent out these letters to the schools then to the businesses, probably a process that will take months, or even a couple years, i plan to coordinate efforts and get people contacting people and start a new epidemic. inter-vocational collaboration for the improvement of our youth.

my hope is that over the course of this weekend away, or even up to a week, if it’s allowed and affordable, this experience will change these kids for the better, for good.

what’s it called, you ask? weird, i was thinking you would.

it’s called “Camp Change For Good!”

and we can even have businesses that make shirts and sweatshirts donate clothing with my logo on it, and in exchange they can put whatever they want to advertise on the back so it’s free advertising! rockin, right! iiiii KNOW!

we can even have different businesses donate based on their products, ya know? like to advertise to the kids or get them involved in whatever the firm’s mission is, and get themselves some local attention in general. like we can have a vendor offer snack foods to the kids, and have raffles for sports gear or gadgets from other businesses that donate them so that every kid goes home with something they were given.

this is going to be epic!

we can have people from the businesses and the school volunteer to chaperon the kids and be their counselors, one for each gender of course, and stay in their cabins, and some people can offer to be cooks, unless the campground we pick comes with chow staff, so that will add up to about fifty kids, depending on how many schools participate, and i think there are legal ratios, which could possibly end up being at least three adults for every ten students, which sounds good to me, since it’s quite possible we may have to stop a few fights, and that’s a chance i’m willing to take if it means the kids change for the better by the end of their stay.

anyway, that will add up to almost a hundred people, plus whatever resources we can come across, which is where the businesses come in, to help fund this venture, that way it’s locally supported and between the volunteers, and the businesses, it’s basically the community helping itself, and everyone knows that community that helps itself lives longer and prospers… (hee hee)

so, after all this amazingness has happened, we hope to send the kids back to school and their homes changed for the better, for good. that will be our motto “Change for the Better, for Good.” i’d love to have some cfg tee shirts and sweatshirts and all that!

then once we’ve finished with that group, i hope to incorporate a set schedule and curriculum with the staff at each high school, and maintain communication about ideas and stuff, so that the experience will continue to happen long after i’m gone, and the local businesses will continue to sponsor this venture and the staff members will continue to volunteer to participate, and over time bullying, although it’s impossible to completely rid ourselves of it, will become less of a problem, and the kids, the volunteers, and the people at the businesses will benefit from it all… because that’s good.

“Change for the Better, for Good.”

BAM! or, Book-A-Month online “face”book club. October!

So, I’ve accumulated quite a few books over these last recent latest months, and I’ve started a book club, if only to motivate myself to make time to read them. Great success!

I started reading our first book, “The Last Song” by Nicholas Sparks, who’s this guy from NC who writes a LOT. If you feel compelled to join in the conversation talk, or the reading of any of these books, and if you’re on the BookFace, look up Book-a-month online book club, and “like” it! Pretty simple, yea? I think so. Don’t forget to check out the Discussion forum where the list of available books is, so you can vote on November’s book!

If you aren’t a member of BookFace (for some strange reason, because FB is the shiz!) that’s ok. You can still read the books, and comment hyah! (that’s “here” in mespeak, which I’ll be using often. Told you I was coffee-addicted.)

If you do end up reading this book, or have read this book, you can comment with your answers to the same questions I post on my FBook club page!

My FB post is as follows:

Week 1 Chapter 1-9

Even before reading the first page, I decided I should count the pages and chapters to see how I should split the book up for each week, and I notice in the back of the book, there are already discussion questions in the book!

I guess this makes things easier for me, but I’ll try to come up with questions that aren’t there to keep things interesting!

Chapter 1

*Did you, as a child or teen, ever experience a divorce, whether between your own parents, a friend’s or relative’s parents? How did you view the situation back then? Have your views changed now that you’re older?

Chapter 2

*Steve reflects “Was it still possible for someone like him to experience the presence of God?” Why does he ask himself this? What role do beliefs and faith play in this novel? How would you characterize Steve’s faith?

Chapter 3

*Ronnie is a difficult teen prone to acting out and is alienated from her parents. Were you a rebellious teen? How was this manifested? On the other side, have you ever had to deal with a rebellious teen? Did Ronnie’s behavior touch a nerve?

More questions to come of course, but not all in the same post!

Sentimental ramblings of a coffee-addicted housewife

Where to begin….

As I sit here, listening to my music, on top of my husband’s electronic drumset, and my daughter’s tv, I wonder where I should start in this ever-growing world of blogging. Do I think anyone will read this? maybe, who knows. Do I expect anyone to read this? No, so I can’t possibly be disappointed…

And so, I have begun, and it wasn’t much of a thing.

My name is Crystalina.