Young @ Heart

I've always been fascinated with recipes and cooking. However, I get irrationally irritated by recipe blog posts. I don't like scrolling through a novel, complete with step by step pictures, on how you came to a recipe. All I really care about is the recipe. The story is a great part of it, but that's not ultimately why I'm there. As a result, I've decided to pilot this on my blog. I'll write up the recipe in one blog post and, in another, I'll go into the story behind the recipe. My methodology behind cooking is KISS: keep it simple stupid. I invest in ingredients that are as close to their natural state as I can get. I do still enjoy my unhealthy, processed stuff and get my cravings but I'm trying to be more cognizant of what I put in my body. I'm far from perfect, but I try to keep it balanced and keep it simple.

This past Christmas marked the second that my boyfriend and I had been together. While we have spent the holiday itself with family, we usually carve out time to have a little Christmas of our own. He told me that he had wanted to buy something for me but, for reasons he couldn't get into, he needed my email because there was a survey that each person had to do before this thing could be bought. I thought nothing of it because I wanted to be surprised. Then, when the moment finally came, he asked, as a Christmas present, if I would want to go to Nerd Con: Nerdfighteria.  Needless to say, I was surprised. At the time, I wasn't sure if I wanted to go to Nerd Con. In recent years, there was a part of me that thought I was getting "too old" and "too cool" to be a Nerdfighter. I had started to focus on other things and while I still watched the vlogbrothers  it was an occasional video. I instead turned to the Dear Hank and John  podcast. But after a coup...

 Vermont has always been a state that's near and dear to my heart. I've been there several times before, but I hadn't taken time to really explore. So I approached my boyfriend and asked if he wanted to go on vacation (he did). We put our heads together and, with a little bit of research, we created this itinerary: Lewis and Clark? More like "Alyssa and Mike"  We knew going into the trip that we wouldn't be able to accomplish everything on our map. After all, depending on where you want to go in Vermont, you're driving at a minimum 15-20 minutes. But we were heading off to Burlington, located just off the shores of Lake Champlain. It's known for many things including food, culture, and entertainment. It's a college town, with schools like  Champlain College  and  UVM  all within a short distance from downtown. And last, but not least, it's known for the reason we came to Vermont: the craft beer.  So without further ado, let's...

First and foremost, I know it's been a while since I've written on here. While part of it is because I have a lot going on in my life, sometimes I struggle with wanting to put my thoughts out into the world. I don't like judgement, but I want to capture an audience. I want to be remembered, but I like the solitude that writing provides. Aside from work emails and the occasional letter, the most writing I'll do is in my journal (or, at least for a brief period, a diary). It's a release for me; I like knowing that I can just write for myself, forget what I wrote, and then come back to it years later. I didn't always give myself credit at the time, but I was pretty good at being introspective. Half the time I didn't even realize what I was writing at the time until I looked back on it. It's like my mind just goes, and the words flow out. "Why do you write like you're running out of time?" Speaking of amazing musicals, I ...

Young at Heart: Your First Love It’s funny in retrospect that thing I am going to write about happened last week because I was seriously questioning what my next post on my blog would be. This blog is something I want to continue to do, but I only want to write what I’m passionate about. So without further ado, let’s dive in.   To give you some context to the story, I am currently on a temp assignment at a warehouse where I’m responsible for filing invoices and their corresponding work orders. The environment of where I work is very casual. As a result, I was told it’s okay to listen to my iPod while I file (which is always a fun way to pass the time). Anyways, the other day at work I was jamming out to none other than Taylor Swift. Whether you like her or hate her as an artist, it does not relate to the story I want to tell. I happen to like her lyrics and her music.   While I love music, I haven’t been listening to my iTunes lately. I used to have a lot o...