Free Beats

As you may have noticed, this is video week here on Teenage Enthusiasm. I’ve been really busy with studying and trying to end up with all A’s in the next two weeks until the school year ends. I want to keep you all entertained, even if I’ve got my head stuck in books all the time. Regular, non-video posts will start soon though, I promise.

Meanwhile, here is a cool video I found on Vimeo about a guy who set up a little ‘Free Beats’ area in his local park. I thought this was kind of a cool idea and I hope you all enjoy the video!

East London Style

Found this on Stumbleupon today and thought it was a comical take on London fashion history. Enjoy!

Invasion of the Mouth Occupiers

Yesterday was a day I’ve been waiting for since I was in sixth grade. It was the day I got my full set of braces on.

In the weeks before my appointment, I was looking forward to my braces. I would finally get straight teeth! However, in the 30 hours since I had them tacked to my teeth, it’s been nothing like I imagined. Here are some of the observations I’ve made in the last 30 hours.

• My mouth feels like a small metal person has decided to attach themselves to my teeth. I can barely close my lips.

Happy Mothers’ Day!

I want to keep this short and simple because I want all of us to go out and spend time with our lovely mothers!

God blessed me with the most lovely mother on the entire planet. I know we all think that, but mine is seriously the best. My mom is always there when I really need her. She looks after me and helps me stay on the right path. She buys me the best presents I’ve ever received and she never expects anything back. She gives me birthdays I couldn’t even imagine. She tells me how special I am to her and this is my way of telling her how special she is to me.

She’s also incredibly goofy. Most perfect mother ever!

The relationship between a mother and a daughter isn’t something that can be replaced or bought. It’s more than that; it’s the perfect, unbreakable relationship that every couple wants but only a mother and daughter can have.

Happy Mothers’ Day!

Look What I Drew!

This week in math I received probably the most unconventional math project ever assigned. It was to draw.

The assignment was to recreate a picture of your choosing onto a larger piece of paper to show ratio. It took me four days to grid the original picture, grid the larger piece of paper, recreate the picture onto the larger paper, outline, erase, and color. It was a lot of work.

Now, I’m incredibly proud of this project. And by incredibly, I mean I am so blown away I can’t comprehend it at all! I’m not very artistic, especially since when I was in fourth-grade my art teacher told me I couldn’t draw. She squashed every ounce of me wanting to be an artist. So, I’ve never really considered the field and have avoided it at all costs. However, since I’ve done this assignment, art isn’t as terrifying as I once thought it.

Dance the Weekend Away

I don’t know about you, but I had quite the lovely, extended weekend.

My weekend started on Thursday, when I traveled to the University of Oregon for their Foreign Language Day (which, by the way, is a very long drive). Upon my arrival in Eugene, I went to the mall because that’s what teenagers do. At the mall, I bought a copy of Pirate Radio, my favorite movie of all time. I have searched about 7 stores for this film and I finally bought it. Accomplishment unlocked! However, as much fun as buying a film and eating lots of over-priced food court food is, I had even more fun on Friday.

Foreign Language Day is a day where schools from all around come and learn about the different cultures of the world. They have classes about China, Japan, Brazil, India, France, Spain, Germany, etc. There are a lot of classes and only so many sessions that one can attend. Of the three classes I attended, I went to a Spanish dance class, a Bhangra/Bollywood dance class, and a Brazilian dance class. As you can see, dancing was kind of the theme of the day for me.

The Benefits of Being a Babysitter

In the last two or three years I’ve become a babysitter. Over the past five months, I’ve become a regular babysitter for a family near me. Over the past week, I’ve realized why I love babysitting so much.

I’ve only had two regular jobs, working at my local children’s museum and being a regular babysitter. They’ve both involved me working around kids. And they are both jobs I love. If it weren’t for the fact I love journalism so much, I’d probably go into a child care position. Being around kids is a rewarding experience, as you are helping mold minds and having fun at the same time!

1. 2 hours on the treadmill = 1 hour playing in the park.

   When you take kids to the park, all they want to do is play with you. Sure, they can play by themselves on the slide, but they would much rather you come over. I like to play zombie, as the kids love it when you run around with them. Plus, if you get tired, you can pretend to die and lie in the grass for a little while.

A Post in Which I May or May Not Brag About My Birthday

…I don’t like to brag, but, my birthday was yesterday. Yay!!!!

My birthday is one of my favorite days of the year. And it’s not because it’s all about me and I get to eat unmonitored amounts of cake. I like my birthday because it’s a time that family and friends get together and we all have a really nice time. And that’s special.

Turning 17 has been a real eye-opener. It’s finally hitting me that this is my last year of being a child. In 364 days I will be an adult, someone who can vote and go to jail. Wrapping my head around it is proving to be impossible. I’m only a ninth of the way around!

PB&C 5-Minute Mug Cake

About a year ago a friend of mine sent me a recipe for 5-minute mug cake. I saved the recipe in a folder on my desktop and never tried it. Well, about three nights ago I was having a major sweet-tooth break down. I needed sugar in my system. Pronto. So, remembering this little recipe I had stashed away (but was unable to find because my laptop broke 8 months ago) I searched the internet for the perfect mug cake recipe.

The recipe I found was for vanilla mug cake. I made it but it lacked sweetness and…taste. I was weary to try again, thinking I’d done something wrong the first time, when I substituted in my own ingredients to flavor up the cake. Well, it turned out a million times better! So, I’m going to share with you my secret to delicious mug cake that definitely tastes good.

PB&C (Peanut Butter & Cinnamon) 5-Minute Mug Cake

Why I Am Not a Procrastinator

You see lots of bloggers who are constantly complaining about what procrastinators they are. They write whole posts about their problems with being efficient and how they try to keep focused. I don’t have that problem. Here’s why.

I use to-do lists.

If you ever happen across my family or friends, they will tell you I’m as rigid as a ruler. When I have a long list of things I need to do I keep focused until it’s finished. Of course, I’m human and can be distracted as much as the next person. That’s why I use to-do lists.