Be the Change. Signs of Nicole. Signs of Hope.

Okay, so here's the thing. I don''t usually write reviews / talk about movies that I see, but since this blog is the one I started when i moved to Ghana, I thought this was appropriate. PLUS, I  just cannot stop thinking about all the things I thought while watching this film last night at the Pan African Film Festival.  Heather and I won free tickets through a Facebook giveaway thing.  I LOVED the last film that Batty did, The Saratov Approach, and when I heard he was doing another film, and that it was was going to be in Africa I could hardly contain myself, and THEN later I heard it was going to be filmed in GHANA and my heart started oozing right there, because I knew that it was going to be beautiful.

The thing I love about Freetown, is that it's a show about faith, and love, and service, and trials. 

There was a part in it where one of the men asked, "Is faith really supposed to be this exhausting?" I have been struggling somewhat with my faith lately, and not that I am losing my testimony of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, but just that having faith lately has been so exhausting... and YES it is supposed to be this exhausting, like.... sometimes life is hard, and it's impossible that anything could just work out- but it does.

I loved watching the simple thing that God does for us, that make the HUGE things fall into place.

Be who you are.

Always be a witness of God.

Believe He will help you.

Trust your Faith.

Help Others.

It's insane to me that 2014 is already over. So many things have happened in my life, and year after year the new years seem to come faster and faster.  I'm reflecting on my goals from last January and also want to set some new ones.

READ books!! (my goal is 6 books…. I knows that’s really not that many- especially because I love reading, but I haven’t been able to read because I’ve been in school!!!!) Allegiant. The Fault in Our Stars. Mockingjay (for the second time). Visions of Glory. Living with PCOS. Let it Snow. CHECK!

Find my personal painting process! I’m hoping that Juliette Crane’s How to Paint an Owl will help me find that process! I TOTALLY did this!  The class actually helped me less than I would have liked, but all in all through my own thing and yeah reading through some of the JC stuff, I have my own process and LOVE painting owls. CHECK!

Get Healthy! (I’m starting a new program I will post about that later as it happens and I learn more- It’s all about balancing your blood sugar) I tried, I failed. I tried, I failed. This seems to be the theme with me trying to get healthy especially over the last fish years. The hopeful thing is that I recently realized that having Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome is more than just a "it sucks, deal with it" thing. I have an appointment to meet with a new doctor and I am determined to get all the tests done that I need to make living with PCOS an easier, less challenging thing so that I can have a better chance at losing weight and getting my hormones under control. THIS GOAL WILL CONTINUE to 2015!

WRITE!!! I used to write poetry and metaphors and just FREE WRITE all the time, and lately…. That hasn’t happened. I miss it, and need it back. Not so much on this goal- the metaphors haven’t happened at all- BUT I did start this writing project called “Unsigned Letters” and I am really liking that. I still love writing and would eventually love to write a memoir. I did better at writing in my journal this year, so I think it's a success, but for the most part of this I will continue. THIS GOAL WILL CONTINUE to 2015!

New goals for 2015 :

Get Healthy! -I want to build a relationship with a doctor that I trust and learn all that I can about my body and what I personally need to make healthy lifestyle changes that are specific to my PCOS.

WRITE!!! - I want to write more. Blog. Journal. Unsigned Letters.

Just thinking about how freaking FAST this year went by, and wondering if I have met any of my new years resolutions-- so let's take a look :

READ books!! (my goal is 6 books…. I knows that’s really not that many- especially because I love reading, but I haven’t been able to read because I’ve been in school!!!!) I read quite a few books this year, I am trying to remember what they are but I have read at least 4..... I think. Allegiant. The Fault in Our Stars. Mockingjay (for the second time).  Visions of Glory. I read half of Eve and the Choice Made in Eden, and I am halfway through Paper Towns. Maybe I really will get my 6 books in- that really shouldn't have been this hard.

Find my personal painting process! I’m hoping that Juliette Crane’s How to Paint an Owl will help me find that process! I TOTALLY did this!  The class actually helped me less than I would have liked, but all in all through my own thing and yeah reading through some of the JC stuff, I have my own process and LOVE painting owls.

Get Healthy! (I’m starting a new program I will post about that later as it happens and I learn more- It’s all about balancing your blood sugar) I am still struggling with this one- I'm not still on that program, I did it for awhile, and it turned out to not be so healthy for me- I am in a better place though than I was and I am realizing that this isn't really a resolution it is going to be a life long process as I figure out how to control this addiction.

WRITE!!! I used to write poetry and metaphors and just FREE WRITE all the time, and lately…. That hasn’t happened. I miss it, and need it back. Not so much on this goal- the metaphors haven't happened at all- BUT I did start this writing project called "Unsigned Letters" and I am really liking that. I still have a month and a half, and next year- one of my goals will be to actually know my goals....  :-)

READ books!! (my goal is 6 books…. I knows that’s really not that many- especially because I love reading, but I haven’t been able to read because I’ve been in school!!!!)

Find my personal painting process! I’m hoping that Juliette Crane’s How to Paint an Owl will help me find that process! http://www.juliettecrane.com/

Get Healthy! (I’m starting a new program I will post about that later as it happens and I learn more- It’s all about balancing your blood sugar)

I'm not going back this year.  Heart. Breaking.

BUT- I have been in contact with this guy, Cassis.  He is AMAZING- and we are working to build an NGO together.  He has already started one, but he wants to bring me in as an ASL/ Deaf Ed partner.  We are working things out, but I am pretty excited about it.  He's just got so many ideas, and has the means to make it happen.  We will see where things take us.  

So, I found a recipe for Cauliflower Pizza crust, and I was SUPER skeptical…. well, I've already made it twice. It was SUPER good.  I adapted it a little bit so here's my version : Preheat oven to 450F.  Line a baking sheet with Parchment Paper.

1 bag of cauliflower florets (I bought mine at Costco- about 2 heads)

2 egg

2/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheeze

1 tsp Garlic (minced) 

1/2 TBS. Italian Seasoning

Dash of Salt

Dash of Pepper

Remove the leaves and hard center core of the cauliflower.  Cut into florets. (or use the bag from Costco like me!)  Wash and then allow the cauliflower to dry completely.  (You want the cauliflower completely dry and you will NOT be adding any water when cooking, this helps to cut down on the boiled cauliflower taste and smell.)  Once dry, fill the bowl of a food processor (I used my Ninja) about half full and using the chopping blade and the pulse action, process the cauliflower until it looks like the size of grains of rice.  Add the processed cauliflower to a microwave safe bowl and repeat with the remaining cauliflower.  Once all the Cauliflower has been processed and added to the microwave safe bowl, cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap or a lid.  Microwave on high for 7 minutes.

Place the cooked Cauliflower into a tea towel and squeeze all the water out.  It is important to get the rice as dry as possible so that there won’t be extra moisture in the crust which will prevent it from crisping up properly. You may even need to use two towels. I've found that microfiber towels work best. Be careful it's HOT.

In a medium bowl combine the dry Cauliflower, eggs, 2/3 cup shredded mozzarella, garlic, Italian Seasoning, salt, & pepper and mix to combine well.  Press the cauliflower mixture into an even thickness on the prepared pan, either into a round or rectangular shaped pizza.  I kept the crust pretty thin, about 1/4-inch thick. Each half-cup is a serving of veggies. I usually make 2 pizzas 1 cup each.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until the crust is firm and golden brown.  Remove the pan from the oven and turn off the oven and turn on the broiler and move the rack to up close to the broiler. Top the cooked crust with sauce, cheese and toppings of your choice.  Place under the broiler until the cheese is bubbly and melted.

Enjoy!

**Meats and veggies need to be cooked before placing them on the pizza as after the crust is baked, the pizza is only under the broiler to melt the cheese, not long enough to properly cook meats and veggies.

Okay- so here are some of my goals for 2014 : 

READ books!! (my goal is 6 books.... I knows that's really not that many- especially because I love reading, but I haven't been able to read because I've been in school!!!!)

Find my personal painting process! I'm hoping that Juliette Crane's How to Paint an Owl will help me find that process! http://www.juliettecrane.com/

Get Healthy! (I'm starting a new program I will post about that later as it happens and I learn more- It's all about balancing your blood sugar)

It's been way too long.

Happy New Year! As the new year is beginning, I've been doing my annual reflection on life, and on the past year- and I am really excited about where my life is going, and the things I am doing. Of course I, like the rest of people, have make some goals for this year- one of them being to update my blog more!  Sometimes I just feel like because I'm not in Ghana- or I'm not doing "cool" things, that I shouldn't blog- but especially with this year knowing I'm not going back to Ghana- I need to find the simple joys and reflect on things I can do here, and the change I can be here!

I'm excited for my year- Student Teaching, My class with Juliette Crane (http://www.juliettecrane.com/ ). Graduating. Getting my first "real" job. There are a lot of awesome things that are going to happen this year!

Just received tragic news from some of my dearest friends at my Ghana school, that this adorable child of one of the teachers, was hit by a Trotro this morning near the entrance of the school. He has returned to live with our Heavenly Father.

Tragedies like this are heart breaking, and are a reminder to me everyday, that life is unpredictable.  Life is short, and can end at any moment.

We love you George, and miss you.  We know we will see you again.