Fruit Pizza

This recipe is one of my favorites for comfort food. I have made it countless ways and found out two things: use fresh fruit when possible and never take the easy way out by softening the cream cheese. Melting and softening are two completely different things that will give you two completely different results.

Ingredients:

1 roll or package of cookie dough ( I prefer chocolate chip)

1- 8 oz. package of cream cheese

2- 8 oz. containers of whipped topping 

1 pint of strawberries (diced, fresh preferred)

3 kiwis (diced, fresh preferred)

Directions:

1. Spread cookie dough onto a round cookie sheet. If cookie is in a roll, slice the dough to mold a pizza.
2. Follow cookie dough baking directions on package and bake. Remove the cookie crust from the heat and  place in the refrigerator to cool for later.
3. Dice the strawberries and kiwis and set aside.
4. Soften the cream cheese and combine the whipped cream with a whisk.
5. Spread the cream cheese/ whipped cream topping on the cookie crust and scatter the strawberries and kiwis on the crust to finish.

Troupe Blocking with Nail Polish

       With many thanks to the La La tribal troupe leader, April, I have been given an opportunity to prepare a full piece for a show in the future. One of the toughest issues I am having so far is working on the dance without the dancers. This is where the fingernail polish comes into play. So far, it is the funniest yet most helpful ways I have learned to block dancers in choreography. After watching a recent episode of Game of Thrones (the heart-wrenching "Red Wedding"), I had thought using nail polish to block the dance would help make the performance clearer in my head as I made choices to move dancers around.

        The bottles were treated as bodies, meaning if I was not able to move the bottle in a new position efficiently, I could correct it. If I wanted one red color bottle (a dancer playing a specific role) in a particular position, I could practice blocking with the polish as much as I want, with the help of photographs from previous blocking. I used different color nail polish to represent a different person, took a picture of each change, and uploaded the picture to add text to the pictures. I will eventually need to put this to the test, so I will have an update on how it works.

Tuna Sandwiches

A quick and easy recipe for time when you just want a sandwich. This is a personal favorite from my mom's collection.

Tuna Sandwiches

Ingredients:

5 eggs, boiled
5 cans of tuna, drained
6 tbsp of juice from sweet gherkin pickles
5 tbsp of mayonnaise or Miracle Whip

Directions:

1. Dice boiled eggs with yoke into a medium size bowl.
2. Add the drained cans of tuna, sweet pickles juice, and mayonnaise (or Miracle Whip)
3. Mix together in the bowl and serve with crackers or on a sandwich.

Peanut Butter Rice Crispy Treats

This recipe brings me back to when I was a kid so I wanted to rekindle the memories of the days where my mom and I would make this quick treat on summer days.

Ingredients:

7 cups rice cereal

1/2 cup sugar

4 tbsp peanut butter

1/4 tbsp butter

1 bag (10.5 oz) marshmallows 

Directions:

1. Melt butter into a large size pan.

2. Add sugar, marshmallows, and peanut butter into the pan and stir until smooth.

3. Add rice cereal and stir with a spoon or spatula. Make sure the cereal is thoroughly mixed.

4. Pour the mixture onto a non-stick cookie sheet and spread it until the treat covers it fully. 

5. Cut into squares to serve.

It's great with milk! Enjoy!

New choreography in process

    Very recently I have performed my own choreographed drum solo to the song "Desert Princess" by Hossam Ramzy. It felt amazing to complete a dance and present the finishing product. Now, I am ready to work on another choreography. It's different compared to the previous Triberet performances since this is more of a Tribal Fusion dance and I want the vocabulary to be smoother with more isolations. 

    Right now, I am in what I feel is stage two of choreography development. It is drafted, but nowhere near clean. I have  separated the movements into combinations to make corrections and practices easier. Since I prefer to save choreographing the opening of this dance for when I have a clear idea of my "story", there is no introduction yet.

    This experience should be fun since I am trying something different and challenging. I tend to gravitate towards using shimmies (hence my drum solo) but I want to focus on my underused movement vocabulary. I'll do my best to update on my progress.

Summer time! Time to focus...

I have finally finish my spring semester leaving one more semester before I graduate. I see friends preparing themselves for a new adventure in life and all it creates is a stir of anxiousness in me. Leaving the school that gave me the opportunity to explore my major in all aspects will be bittersweet, but I can't wait to jump into the workforce. So, for one last time, I am searching for volunteer or internship work over the summer.

This is my last rodeo being that the time I donate to the fall semester will strictly be to graduate. I want to make sure I am prepared for whatever is thrown at me. The volunteer experiences I've had in the past (from the food pantry to nursing homes) were amazing and the internships in broadcast and print media  gave me much needed lessons. However, I want to be able to say I have "dabbled" in as much communication-oriented work as possible. This isn't a break for me, it's another opportunity to learn.

My Favorite Moments in Belly Dancing

    It's been a while since I written something on The Ferris Wheels, but it doesn't mean I haven't been moving. The year of 2012 has been memorable in many ways when it comes to family, friends, school, and experiences. I am going into the last year if my life as a Mass Communication student with hopes of finding a job in Journalism in the near future. The highlight of my 2013 year so far is the my second place win in Communication Law and our Press Club's first place win in onsite competition at the Southeast Journalism Conference.

    Belly dancing is also still  a passion for me. As I am entering my fourth year as a Tribal Fusion dancer, I have finished three choreographies. What makes this even better is I have an amazing boyfriend supporting me throughout it all.

    I have been feeling nostalgic lately and decided to look back at some of my most memorable performances with the girls I love. I'm choosing these dances specifically because of how it changed the way I danced. I believe some people call this the journey.