L S Gallagher
Chocolate Milk Day
Did you know that today is National Chocolate Milk Day? What better way to celebrate today than by enjoying a chocolate milk float?...
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Welcome to Project COVID, my name is Shaye Gallagher, and I am in ninth grade. I have been going a little crazy being stuck in my house, and I assume many feel the same. I have decided to create project COVID to keep me busy and hopefully, a way for me to get to know some of my classmates. I plan to try different recipes and crafts, and I will encourage you guys to try them with me. I hope that this works well enough for me to do craft and baking challenges through zoom. Hope to see you guys there!!
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LOOKING TO DO SOME GOOD??
Toys for Tots
If you are a member of the American embassy community, there is no better way to help around the holidays than donating to Toys for Tots. There is a box in the lobby of the U.S Embassy that collects toys for children in need. They will be excepting until December 11, 2020. Please donate to help spread joy as the Christmas season approaches.
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PLAYING WITH MY DOG
TONKA
A fun-loving Belgian Malinois
One extra challenge that I am facing is that I just moved here. This means that I don't have any of my stuff. I have had to get creative with the ways that I keep myself busy. Most recently, I have started playing "Brain games" with my dog. One of my favorites is putting one of my dog's toys under a bowl and mixing it with empty bowls. So far, he has done well, and I am excited to see how he progresses. If your dog doesn't play along, you might want to try a more simple game that I play with my dog. I wish I had a catchy name for it, but I don't. It is simply spraying my dog with a hose. He loves jumping at the water and getting dried off afterward. I hope you try some of the things I mentioned in this post. If you don't like any of these ideas, I have attached links to others that might interest you.
https://gooddoggies.online/seven-fun-games-to-play-with-your-dog-indoors/
https://www.loveofapet.com/fun-brain-games-for-dogs/
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NETFLIX
As much as I am trying to stay busy, I will have to admit I still watch way too much Netflix. Here is a list of my favorite Netflix tv shows.
Tv shows
1) Titans
2) The crown
3)Modern Family
4)Umbrella Academy
5) Witcher
6)Marvels Runaways
7) The Office
8)Parks and Recreation
9)Brooklyn Nine-Nine
10) The Good Place
11) Stranger Things
12)Lock and Key
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HOMEMADEÂ S'MORE
Fail
This next story is not exactly the success story. My family has a fire pit that looked perfect for roasting marshmallows, so I decided to do just that. The only problem is that I couldn't find graham crackers or marshmallows locally. I found a recipe for homemade graham crackers that worked great. The graham crackers tasted even better than store-bought ones. Sadly, I cannot say the same about the marshmallows. I wish there were a word that described how terrible they were. Unfortunately, there isn't one, so I will have to settle for a series of words: cold, slimy, unsettling, and disturbingly slug-like. I have put the link for the graham crackers below. I suggest you try it since those are worth making. I will try to find a better marshmallow recipe to share with you guys; after all, I have nothing but time. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/743586588468760748/
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CAT'S GAME
For those of you who didn't read my dog post, you know, I have been playing with my pets to see how smart they are. I put a link to the game I tried. My cat didn't go for it, but maybe yours will!
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HEALTHY PANCAKES
Homemade pancakes
Hello, today's post is an article that I hope becomes a series here at project COVID. I have seen things all over social media about healthy recipes to make unhealthy food. I can say with some amount of confidence that the healthy version will not be as good as the unhealthy version. However, I want to know if we can still replace our junk food with superfood without a significant transition. I hope to try things like healthy cookie dough, healthy brownies, and more nutritious fried food. My first project was finding a healthy alternative to pancakes.
While pancakes are not their worst thing for you, they're are high in carbs, not very filling, and have a low nutritional value. I decided to try and replace the typical pancake with oatmeal pancakes, and here is what happened.
Before I go into too much detail about how it worked out, I will explain the significant differences. The unhealthy pancakes consisted mostly of sugar, flour, and butter. The recipe I used called for chocolate chips, but I opted not to use it since no healthy pancake could ever compare to a chocolate chip pancake. The healthy pancakes consisted of oats, bananas, eggs, and vanilla.
When I first started making the pancakes, I noticed one immediate difference. The healthy pancakes were a lot easier to make. It was merely oats, bananas, one egg, and vanilla in a blender. I mixed it for about a minute, and an excellent pancake batter appeared. The unhealthy pancakes we're quite the opposite. I had to separate the egg yolk and the egg white and blend them separately. There was a lot more measuring and a lot more dirty dishes made with unhealthy pancakes. Having said that, they tasted better. That is not to say that the healthy banana pancakes were not good because they were. But it is hard to compete with butter and sugar :-). The Banana pancakes were a lot denser and honestly not very pancake-like. However, they were OK, and I consider them to be a good alternative. But I still think I will treat myself to the occasional unhealthy pancake.
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L S Gallagher
Lets do this together!!
I thought it would be fun if you guys wrote some of the posts on the blog. After all, this is our club. I know that I am not the only one...
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Hobbies
One of the things that many of us are struggling with is the inability to practice our hobbies. Luckily, this pandemic came during the era of Youtube. I have attached links to some activities. You can either use these to continue an existing hobby or start a new one. There are so many more videos just like this and some that are even better. I encourage you to try them all!!
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Ballet https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrISNpG0bZk
Socer- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pH_G1f6KzfI
Kickboxing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcqYeThduWk
Judo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFhiz7dcEkM
Yoga https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1H3xO3x_Js
Cardio https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mvo2snJGhtM
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SUCCULENT GARDEN
This weekend I planted a succulent garden. I made two pots and set them on either side of our backyard stairs. I enjoyed making the garden, and I think the pots add a nice touch to our backyard. I have linked a couple of pages that talk about succulent care if you would like to make a succulent garden. I would highly recommend trying this. They don't take up very much space, and they are not hard to keep alive. An additional benefit is, they do well in Brazil's climate. I bought all of my supplies at Leroy Merlins. I suggest you look there fist because they have a fantastic selection.I hope you guys give this a try!!
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https://thehomespunhydrangea.com/5-reasons-your-succulents-are-dying-and-how-to-help/
https://thegirlwithashovel.com/taking-care-of-succulents/
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SAVING OUR EARTH
First Step
As inconvenient as COVID has been, it has given us time to reflect on how we live our lives. One thing I believe most of us can improve on is how we treat our planet. Now is a great time to reflect on how much waste you use and where it goes.
A great thing you can do is try and buy more reusable items. I have put links to some useful things that my family has purchased that benefit the environment. I hope you try some of these because it is time we take ownership of our actions and care for the planet.
I have put a link to reusable shopping bags below. This model is perfect because it doesn't take up very much space. Grocery bags like these are great because they help reduce one-use of plastic. Plastic shopping bags are horrible for the environment because they are so thin that they cannot be recycled. Plus, turtles often mistake them for jellyfish. My family has been using reusable bags for almost five years now. It was a bit of a transition, but completely worth it!! I hope you are inspired to do the same.
https://www.amazon.com.br/Conjunto-Mercenaria-reutilizáveis-resistentes-dobráveis/dp/B073ZBYMBK/ref=sr_1_20?__mk_pt_BR=ÅMÅŽÕÑ&dchild=1&keywords=sacolas+de+compras&qid=1598730767&sr=8-20
Here is a link for reusable fruit and vegetable bags. My family has been using these for about three years, and we recommend them. They are easy to use and inexpensive. They help eliminate one-use plastic, and they stop your fruit from spoiling as fast. The mesh material helps keep your fruit from rotting because it allows ethylene gas to escape. https://www.amazon.com.br/Saquinhos-Sustentável-Reutilizável-Verdura-Mercado/dp/B086KTWX5M/ref=pd_rhf_se_p_img_3?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=VD8MXDV8YF5E3WDWH7VN
My final suggestion is to buy or make reusable cling wrap. Cling wrap is another example of one-use plastic that cannot be recycled. Aluminum foil is not a good alternative because it is not reusable, and it never biodegrades. Bee's wax is a fantastic alternative because it is natural, reusable, and biodegradable. My family bought ours when we were in the United States. I have not seen any reusable cling wrap since I got to Brazil. I have put a link to a recipe to make homemade bee's wrap. It is an excellent COVID project because it keeps you busy and helps save the planet.
https://mommypotamus.com/diy-reusable-food-wrap
I hope every one of my readers tries at least one of the things linked above. Please don't feel pressured to try them all at once. Take your time and make sure you find a way to make these changes sustainable. And remember: saving the planet isn't about a few people doing everything; it is about everyone doing something.
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HOMEMADE ICE CREAM
This weekend I devoted some time to making homemade ice cream. Luckily, unlike my S' mores, this culinary adventure was a success!! I made chocolate and vanilla ice cream. Both were amazing. They had the perfect blend of creamy, rich flavor. One of the great things about my homemade ice cream is that you can customize each batch. I made my chocolate batch with almonds and peanut m8ms for an added level of crunchy chocolate. Here soon, I hope to try flavors such as: caramel, mint chocolate, and lemon. Another plus is that my ice cream is salt-free, making it better for you.
I have made this ice cream twice. Once we ate the ice cream in plain, and it was amazing!! Another time we made the ice cream into ice cream sandwiches. Both tasted great!! I have put a link to the recipe below. So far, this is one of my most tremendous successes, so definitely give it a try.
I decided to leave out the cookie dough and add one tablespoon and one teaspoon of vanilla instead.
Another option is adding a 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder. Doing this will make the ice cream chocolate ice cream!!
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HELPING THE ENVIRONMENT
Part two
One significant set back of COVID-19 is that we are moving toward disposable items again. According to The Guardian, divers have been finding disposable masks, gloves, and hand sanitizer bottles beneath the Mediterranean waves.
The apparent problem with this is how we are adding trash to the ocean. And this is true. But, masks are similar to plastic bags in that they can float. This means turtles and other marine life can mistake them for jellyfish and try and eat them. We have also had the issue of seagulls getting stuck in the straps of masks.
One solution to this is to cut the straps of your mask before you throw it away. This will reduce the risk of marine life being harmed. Another, more practical solution, is to use reusable gloves and masks. I have put links to where you can buy them below. And as always, remember: helping the environment isn't about one person doing everything. It is about everybody doing something.
Reusable gloves -You don't need to buy anything! You can use gardening gloves or cleaning gloves. Any glove that you can wash and reuse will work great.
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VISION BOARD
Hello everyone!! I hope you guys are enjoying the blog. This weekend I worked on a pretty cool craft that I am excited to share with you guys. This weekend I made a vision board.
For those of you who don't know, a vision board is a board that has pictures of your goals. You can also write inspirational quotes and ideas as to how you will achieve these goals. A vision board can be done in a thousand ways. I chose to make mine on a bulletin board. Here is the formula I followed to get a product that I absolutely love.
Long term goals-I included pictures of the universities that I hope to attend. I also put flags of countries that I hope to visit.
Short term goals- I also included goals that I can achieve this year. I put: run a 10k, do the splits, have a GPA of 3.7, and read 12 books. Notice how I included school-related goals and athletic goals. For some of these goals, I put pictures, and for others, I wrote them out. This gives the board some variety.
Inspiration- For inspiration, I put some inspiring quotes and some pictures of my friends.
I used gold push pins to keep it all in place. My board is currently sitting in my room, so that I see it every day. As always, I have put links to more information. Good Luck!!
Four things to put on your vision board that are not pictures
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STICK HOUSES
Article submitted by a reader!!
I've been making a stick house. It's really easy- all you need are plants and glue! I also used string to bend some parts into shape, but that depends on what you want to make. It's a little hard to see it from the photos, so I added some from a few angles and you can pick out whichever ones work for you.
I would recommend making the frame first, because I tried making the levels separately and had to re-do the whole thing, basically, because the levels didn't fit together.
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OOBLECK
One thing that I miss about school is being able to do science projects. To mend this void, I decided to recreate a science project I made back in elementary school. This experiment is called Oobleck. Oobleck is part water park cornstarch that creates a strange substance. If you squeeze the Oobleck, it becomes hard, and when you release, it becomes a liquid. It is enjoyable to play with. I didn't do this myself, but you can put it on a speaker it will sort of dance. I put a link to a video below. Below you will also find a recipe for Oobleck and a video explaining Oobleck. I hope you try it, and more importantly, I hope you enjoy it.
Two cups of corn starch per one cup of water
Fun Fact: Oobleck is named after doctor Seuss' book! Here it is
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TRASH CLEAN-UP
As many of you know, EAB Goes Green and NHS organized a trash pickup. I participated this Saturday. I was amazed at how much trash I found. I didn't walk more than a block, and I found an entire garbage bag worth of trash. This shocked me. It made me realize how hard it must be for wildlife here in Brazil. Even though the trash pickup is officially over, I still encourage participating in a trash pickup of your own. Make sure you have gloves and a mask. And that you stay away from others while doing this because we are still in quarantine. I recommend doing this because it feels excellent, giving back to the planet that has given us so much.
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KAYAKING
With Capybara
Welcome back!! To date, most of my adventures have been indoor. However, recently, I took my fun outdoors. I went Kayaking!!
Kayaking is the perfect activity for COVID because you can social distance in your kayak, and it is outdoors.
When I went kayaking on the lake, my family and I saw a lot of incredible wildlife. We saw different birds and fish. While those were cool, the highlight was the Cappybarras. We saw several herds of them throughout the trip. This might be my favorite COVID activity yet. Give it a try!!
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MUMMY COOKIES
Happy Halloween!! For those of you not "Trick or Treating" but still want something sweet, please try these amazing mummy cookies. I made them using the recipes linked below.
For decorating, I placed some black icing in the upper center of the cookies. Then I made white stripes with a ribbon piping tip. Finally, I put some M&Ms for the eyes. They tasted amazing, and they looked pretty cool too!
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