"Youtube Class #5" or "YUM YUM YUM"

How to make cinnamon rolls on a waffle iron

I am trying not to do all food in these experiments but this one was too good to pass up. I actually found it by accident while looking for something else. It was a way to cook canned cinnamon rolls by using a waffle iron. I was skeptical at first and wondered if they really would be cooked all the way through, but I thought I would give it a go and see what happens. I have to say, I will NEVER cook cinnamon rolls any other way now!! It was incredibly easy,delicious, and fast. From can to plate took 2 minutes.

First, unroll cinnamon rolls

Place 2 to 4 rolls on preheated waffle iron

Cook for 90 seconds

Spread on cream cheese

Enjoy!

"Youtube Class #2" or "Let 'er fly"

When I was a kid one of my favorite things to do was make paper airplanes. I would make the simple 5 fold and let 'er rip. Oh, what great memories! Well, I decided to go back to the days of yore and build a new airplane but of course I had to kick it up a notch. So I followed step by step until I accomplished the most impressive paper airplane I had ever made. It was a beautiful use of 2 hours!!! But I did it and now I move on!!


How to make a Jet paper Airplane

"Youtube Class #3" or "Not All of Them Will Be Winners!"

I decided that I would try something I wanted to for a long time.There is a wonderful Cuban Restaurant in Louisville Steph and I eat at when we are there. When I order I always get something that has fried plantains as a side because they are just so good!! So, I found plantains at the store and thought I would try and recreate the experience. It looked simple enough. Slice up the plantains, put a little salt on them and fry them up and enjoy. So, I followed the instructions exactly and then began to enjoy this mouth watering treat. Except, they were very disappointing. Nothing like the ones I enjoy in Louisville.

But isn't that part of the fun. Never knowing if it will turn out or not. There is excitement in the unknown. If everything turned out great then the thrill would fade as well. So, It's off to the next experiment, who knows what will happen???

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsSJpvrg8RI

"YouTube Class #4" (yes, it is out of order) or "How to do what I am already doing"

I am going against the grain here and refuse to do this in the order in which I learn various skills. So, today you get #4 and not number 3. Today I learned how to write a blog. Since I have been dabbling in it for a while, but never with consistency, I thought maybe this would help. This is a chance for me to improve the way I write this blog and any other blog I may want to continue to publish. So here we go as I write the greatest blog post ever written.

How to write the greatest blog ever!

1. Write a how to blog. Check!

2. Define something in your own words for someone to understand it better. Cake is deliciousness on a plate covered in a fluffy concoction of heavenly sweetness. Check!

3. Lists. Duh, Check!

4. Opinion. The more controversial the better. I am more awesome than you. (Let the discussion begin.) Check!

5. Use multimedia. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwII2DrUxIQ Check!

6. Publish everyday. if today counts, then Check! (We'll see if it holds up tomorrow.)

Well, There you go the greatest blog ever written. You are welcome!

"Youtube Class #1" or "Old Dog Meet New Trick"

So I have started an interesting experiment as it relates to polymathic pursuit. I noticed one day by accident actually that there are thousands of "How to..." videos on youtube for anyone to expand their interest in varied and unusual areas. I have decided that, for as long as it fun, I would try to learn something new by watching youtube videos and then trying to replicate what I just saw. So far, I have done 3 of these experiments with varying degrees of success. So let's see where this takes me and find out what new skills I end up learning.

The first experiment was drawing. I have always had a minor interest in drawing, but I am a big lover of art. I love painting and sculptures, as well as, music and dancing. The problem is I stink at all of them. My idea of drawing is stick figures that look like they have scoliosis. I took 6 total years of piano with only a rudimentary ability of my right hand to show for it. I love to sing but people prefer I do it in my car, alone. And yet every time I turn on PBS there is Bob Ross mocking me and my inability to put paint to canvas in any sort of rhyme or reason. so, with this in mind I decided I would go for broke with my first task and draw a rose. 3 sheets of paper later and many pauses and rewinds of the youtube instructor, I did it. But I thought it wasn't very good. I deemed it an utter failure and started to go back to the "drawing board" (pun intended) and do something else. That is when my family came in and ooohhh and aaaahhhhed over this drawing only to be in disbelief that I did it!

So, here we go! Let's see what else I can do!

You can try it too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ty97pp3Yzbk

"Losing a Dream" or "Finding Fun!!"

All my life I have had an interest in physical activity. That's just a clinical way of saying, I like to play!!!! I loved to play sports as a kid and that love has never left. I always love to play Basketball, Baseball, and football. (even though my mom wouldn't let me) Then I discovered I was pretty good at running! I started running sprints, but then made the transition to distance events and then I really shined. I still tinkered around with the other sports, but focused mainly on running. All the way up to 2 months ago. Last year I had a hair brained idea to train for the ironman triathlon. An athletic contest where you swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles and then run a marathon. I train for a year to do this, and then 3 weeks before the event, I tore my meniscus in my left knee. I was crushed to say the least. To make matters worse, my doctor told me I will probably never be able to run again because of all the damage I have put my knees and ankles through over the years. I was so upset by this news, I was at a loss of what I was going to do now!

Then 2 weeks ago, it hit me! Have fun again! I am still a decent athlete, use what I can do, instead of sulking over what I can't do. So for the past 2 weeks, I have gone mountain biking, frisbee golfing, hiking, basketball, helped friends move (not so much fun, but great workout!), with plans to play tennis, racquetball  boxing, Tai Chi, and Staff Fighting(More on that last one later)! I can't tell how much fun I have had! Everyday has been an adventure and I have stopped working out to lose weight, and started being active just to have fun. It has been liberating!!! And the result, I am losing weight! How much? I don't know but my clothes are looser, and my mood is so much better! So, Get out there! Have fun! Find out what you may or may not enjoy, you won't know until you try!!!

"Sticks and Stones" or "Ironically, I Hate Scrabble"

One of my great passions in life is writing. I have enjoyed writing ever since I had to write papers in school. I really loved my college classes which did not have tests but rather graded based on term papers. I have loved writing so much that at this very moment I have 2 blogs, a journal, and a book presently in process. I have written 4 books in the past several years, however none of them has been published. I have just never taken the time or effort to submit a manuscript to a publisher.





My love for writing comes from my love for words. I love to turn a phrase or cleverly use a word where it would have deeper meaning than just its surface. Words have power and force to them few others things can boast. They have the power to build and destroy. They can brighten a day or ruin a life. Words convey more than ink on a page but rather ideas, passions, and dreams. Words are the foundation of a culture and a people. It is in the pages of history where the most important of all concepts are recorded. The usage and forms of words are indicative of the way a people live and function.

When a people lose their language and their words lose their significance then they lose a lot of their identity. So I write. I write for the good of my mental state.I write for the good of my family and I write for the good of the ones I love and care about. I write!