Easy Tortilla Wraps

This was a quick recipe I discovered through my best friend's mother right before our summer river trip. The simple tortilla rolls wrapped in cream cheese, green onions, and pepper jelly were addictive from the first time I tried them, so I had to attempt to recreate the appetizer.

Simple Tortilla Wraps

Photos by Mo Prevost

Ingredients:

1 package flour tortillas
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese
1 jar of pepper jelly (I used Tabasco)
Green onions , chopped

Directions:

1. Spread cream cheese on tortilla.
2. Coat the cream cheese with a spoonful of pepper jelly.
3. Sprinkle chopped green onions evenly.
4. Fold the tortilla into a wrap and use a knife to divide it into three to four sections.
5. Refrigerate until ready to serve!

Photos by Mo Prevost

Troupe Blocking with Nail Polish- Success!

Hammond Horror Festival 2013
Photo by: Lady April

It's been awhile since I gave an update on the choreography I was working on using nail polish. Now, after we were able to practice and perform it, I want to give a analysis on the advantages and disadvantages of this unique method.

 Advantages:
- Visually beneficial- It was difficult to picture all 8 dancers (including myself) in the choreography together. By using a small, mobile visual to take the place of the dancers, I was able to capture a better idea of who was going to be where during a specific place in the music.

Hammond Horror Festival Performance 2013

Music by: Solace "Naga" Choreography by Lindory

Music by: Inkkubus Succubus Choreography by Lady April  

- Three dimensional- Before using nail polish, I attempted to form the choreography first through drawings and moving PowerPoint images. Neither methods captured the transitions of each dancer clearly while the choreography was in its developmental stage.
- Easy to Distinguish- As said in the earlier post, I used a different color for each element the dancers portrayed. When a transition did not work for me, it was easy to remember where each bottle was before the last decision.

Disadvantages:
- Only does so much- The nail polish could only work as placeholders. So if a dance move did not work, I usually found out in person with the dancers themselves.

This was the first fully choreographed group dance I ever taught (big thanks to La La Tribal teacher, Lady April!) so with this idea, I saved myself plenty of confusion and headaches. Take the time to watch our video from the Hammond Horror Festival and see the "nail polish method" at work.

Happy Holidays!

End of the College Road (What I have learned from being a college student)

        It's almost that time. I have bought my cap and gown, I have spoken to officers of organizations on what they should prepare for next semester, and I have sent some goodbye emails. Maybe it's too early to reflect, but I want to, just for the fun of it all. If anything, I know I am not the same freshman that walked into Southeastern years ago. With that being said, I thought it would be interesting to write an open letter to the 18-year-old me advising her of what I wish someone could have told me in order to survive college.

Dear 18 year-old Lindory,

Congratulations! You've survived high school! Although you're not going to believe me when I say this, I’ll tell you anyway. Forget last year, it gets better! You may experience a few issues adjusting to this new view the first year, but everything you go through is necessary. Here is a list that will help ease your mind before you start college:

1. Math will not be a strength for a while. Accept it so you can improve.

There’s nothing worse than denial. Once you know you can’t understand something, find out why. You will be your only cheerleader. After your hard work, you will leave algebra and statistic invincible.

2. Schedule everything.

You will no longer be reminded of homework assignments like in high school. If something sounds important, write it down. If there is a due date, write it in red, circle it, make it stand out.

3. Do not procrastinate!

This point will be difficult. If you need to do it, do it now. Once you get over this heap, you’ll feel accomplished.

4. An envelope will come in the mail soon with an invitation to a leadership organization. Accept it!

You’ll love the experience and you’ll gain experience. A big plus!

5. Write as a much as you can. 

This is detrimental. Journalists is only as good as their writing, so get to work. 

5. Lastly, your senior year will be amazing!

I’m not going to give too much away, but you’re going to love every bit of it.

If you had a chance to give your younger self advice, what would it be?

Covington Celebration of African American Heritage (Video Included)

        I mentioned earlier I would publish more posts involving the community. This is one of those posts.

        I attended a presentation by Dr. Eva Baham on June 23 about the African American heritage in Covington at the Greater Covington Center.The event caught my eye early June and I knew I wanted share this on my blog if I had the chance. I found the information helped me better understand the details of American slavery and the occupations of black citizens. I had a chance to speak to Dr. Baham about researching the past and felt encouraged to look into my own heritage. She gave me great advice on how to find information on the past (which is included in the video below). If you are interested in the black heritage in St. Tammany parish, here is a look into the presentation and interview by Dr. Baham.

Emergency comfort snack!

It's my favorite! This is perfect for a healthy/comfort snack. All it takes is chocolate chips (The amount of chocolate is your choice. I went a little overboard with my mix this time.), a bag of sliced almonds, and a bag of dried cranberries (or dried fruit of your preference). Pour them in a container and mix together to enjoy. 

My Summer To-Do List:Blogging, Dancing, and French Speaking

        When taking the summer off from college, I wanted to go back to drawing board and re-evaluate how I wanted to spend my last summer break and fall semester. My plan was to strengthen everything: My writing, my french, my dancing, and my networking in general.

1. My blog has been keeping my fingers on the keyboard, but I have yet to work true hard news since spring semester. This is a forewarning that you may be seeing some local news somewhere on this blog. I love food and I love dancing, but I also love my area!

2. So far I have been started 12 sets of choreography and only completed five (It would have been 11, but I had spark inspiration after listening to "Harem Aleyk" by Natacha Atlas. I love all the songs I have chosen, so since my summer is getting closer to an end, my goal from here on is to finish the remaining dances for future uses. It'll be a fun challenge!

3. About a year ago, I finished my French minor and haven't been in a French classroom since then. I miss practicing my French so I use countless applications, movies, radio, and songs to keep the language fresh in my mind. In the future, I plan to post ideas, programs, and techniques I use that I believe are effective.

Let the games begin!

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 (Update below)

       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.

Update: I have ran through all but one part of the group choreography. When it came to better understand the dancer's places, the nail polish technique was very effective. I haven't had a chance to tried the dance with the dancers themselves yet, but I feel the choreography will be better understood now that I see the transitions.

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.