Music Monday: Cosmo Speedway (and Wilderness Survival)

I just discovered these guys this last week while listening to Pandora (High Places radio).  So when I went to their Facebook page the other day I was surprised to find that they only had 215 'likes'.  I guess I just thought that since they were on Pandora they'd be a little more known, but I guess not.

When I was looking more into them, I found out that there's two bands with two guys.  So these two childhood friends had many failed attempts at bands, and decided to collaborate.  However, while they were working on their first album, the decided they wanted to produce their own music, with the help of the other.  So there are actually two bands: Shane Reed leads Cosmo Speedway and Nick Grosvener leads Wilderness Survival.  Together they've created eight albums.  They're kinda electro-retro sounding and pretty chill.

'Lights On' by Cosmo Speedway:

Shane spent six months sleeping on a couch because this was set up in his room.  He actually started a fire when a light fell over over on the dry brush.  The whole thing was made using stop motion (which I think is one of the coolest effects) using 3,600 images. 

'I'm the One' by Wilderness Survival:

Cosmo Speedway's website

Wilderness Survival's website

hello

Monster cookies

I love baking and I haven't in a long time so I decided it was time to make some monster cookies.  The recipe I used was from Paula Deen (so you know they are gonna be good).  I love monster cookies cause they have a little bit of everything.  My two favorite cookies are oatmeal and peanut butter, so the fact that these cookies have both just make them amazing.

The Ingredients:

3Eggs

1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 12-ounce jar creamy peanut butter
• 1 stick butter, softened
• 1/2 cup multi-colored chocolate candies (M&Ms)
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips (I used white chocolate chips)
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 4 1/2 cups quick-cooking oatmeal
• 
  
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and lightly grease the cookie sheets

In a very large mixing bowl combine the eggs and sugars. 

Mix well

Add the salt, vanilla, peanut butter, and butter. 

Mix Well

I recommend using an electric beater (just to make sure the butter is mixed in well)

Stir in the M&Ms, chocolate chips (again, I used white chocolate chips because you're already getting chocolate from the M&Ms and I like white chocolate), baking soda, and oatmeal

Mix well

Use two tablespoons to make each cookie.

Place them approx. 2 inches apart

Bake for 8-10 minutes (do not over bake)

Let stand for 3 min before transferring to cool.

This recipe yields ~3 dozen delicious cookies

Knowing my roommates, these'll probably all be gone in a couple days. Especially since one of them claimed all the cookies before they were even finished.

carpe diem

For those of you that don't know what carpe diem means, it's Latin for seize the day. I never heard of it until high school when I started running.  My cross and track coach (probably the best coach I've ever had), would always say it, and ever since then I try to live by it.  When ever we would race or have a hard work out all he'd really say to us was "carpe deim".  In other words, run the best you can and seize every moment of it. It really made you want to do that when you were running the race.  It's stuck with me ever since.

It's been something I try to do and live by.  It doesn't necessarily mean that you have to do all kinds of stuff everyday.  To me it's more about living life to it's fullest and enjoying every minute of it, no matter what it is. More recently I've been a lot better about saying yes to doing more and trying new things.  And I'm extremely happy I have.  It makes me even more happy about the life I have.

This kinda goes along with one of my previous posts, take a chance, in that I feel in order to carpe diem, you have to take a chance.  I mean, how can you really make the most of your day without actually taking a chance?


As a little side note:
I finally got a pair of TOMS shoes this summer and have really wanted another pair.  First because the idea behind it is so cool and because they are very comfortable.  When I saw they had limited edition carpe diem shoes, I fell in love with them instantly.
I'm really excited to get them and read the book
TOMS carpe deim classics

What could have been

Within the past few years, I feel I've changed a lot (mostly since graduating high school).  This is something I find myself always thinking about.  Mostly because I feel I've changed a lot.  Also because I am constantly wondering what thing's could have been like if I traveled down a different path.

There are always so many different choices to make each day, some are bigger than others.  Like what you decide to eat that day or what you wear isn't that big of a decision and probably isn't really gonna affect you later in life.  Every once in awhile you come across something that requires time to think about and what could happen depending on what decision you make.

This past year alone, I feel I've changed the most and made a lot of big decisions (some that were very difficult to make).  More recently, and more frequently I've been wondering how things would be if I had mad a different decision back in January.  For me this was a really big decision and sometimes I wish I would have kept things the way they were.  Another part of me is glad with my decision because the last half a year would not have been how it was at all.  And there are definitely somethings I've enjoyed very much in the last half a year that I wouldn't change a thing about.

A friend of mine recently told me this: "Don't hate anything. Just accept it. Things are fine the way they are since they have ended up that way, thus they should be that way."  I found this very true, it's just saying you have to be happy with the way things are because it's the way they are supposed to be.  Almost as if the choice you made was the right choice.

Are there any decisions in you're life that you still wonder what would have happened if you chose something other than what you chose? Do you wish you could go back and make the other choice or are you happy with the one you chose?