Limon y Sal

What I learned on my summer vacation

2011-08-16T01:04:00.002-06:00

It is really hot & humid in Northern Indiana in the month of June, but it is all worth it to see two good friends get married, catch up with old friends, and visit all your favorite places in your college town.

Your college town will always sort-of feel like home.

Take any chance to observe the respect and love between your grandparents & work for the same attributes in your own marriage.

Kalona bars are delicious.

Having friends and family come to visit you is awesome.

Elk are really beautiful creatures, but don't get too close!

Finding a new house to rent is stressful.

When moving, make sure one of your friends is really talented when it comes to spatial relationships. Let that friend supervise the loading of the moving truck, and watch the magic of Moving Truck Tetris begin.

It is sad when good friends move away.

When visiting Alaska, it is a good idea to be quite aware of your surroundings when hiking on a trail. If you hear an animal snorting, turn around! Once a safe distance away, use your binoculars to discover the moose that was on your original path.

Whale blubber is an interesting food. Halibut, salmon, moose, and caribou are pretty delicious.

Spending a night in a yurt with 6 amazing, beautiful, talented women is...well...amazing.

If the dogs you are considering house sitting for come with a 2-page instruction sheet, don't do it!

Eating at an awesome vegan/vegetarian restaurant is a great way to celebrate your 2nd wedding anniversary.

Watching 8 seasons of That 70s Show is an accomplishment to be (sort-of) proud about.

Back-to-school time comes much too soon.

I am (sort of) back to blogging here! I can't promise full dedication to the blog with school starting up and our apartment still not unpacked after over a month here, but check back once and awhile for possible updates!

Thanks, karma

2011-04-05T16:45:00.002-06:00

I was driving home from work feeling terrible about the following: a big decision, the fact that I blocked the sidewalk while turning left out of the school and a pedestrian called me out for it, and that I'd gotten so distracted I didn't notice a light had turned green, infuriating both a school bus driver and the driver behind me.

When I picked up the mail, I found yet another reason I love my dentist: He sent me a personally written thank you note and two movie tickets for referring a friend to them.

And it's warm enough that the ice cream truck is patrolling the neighborhood.

Thanks, karma, for reminding the world is not a completely terrible place.

A veces

2011-03-18T17:21:00.002-06:00

Sometimes I think I am actually certifiably insane. Case in point: the next week of my life.

Monday-Wednesday: Complete inventory of entire library collection at work. Yes, that does mean 11,000 books. At least I have volunteer help?

Thursday: RIF distribution day at our school. I'll be in the auditorium all day helping every student pick out a free book to take home.

Thursday, 11 pm: Get on a plane and fly to Pittsburgh.

At least spring break happens at the end of this ridiculous week? If I still know my own name by Thursday night, I'll be lucky.

Up past my bedtime

2011-03-15T22:54:00.003-06:00

Somewhere along the lines of the last few weeks, I have forgotten how to sleep. It is now 1 hour after bedtime, and my eyes are exhausted. My brain, unfortunately, stays awake.

One of my favorite parts of working in a library is reading out loud. I used to be active in theater, but now I save the theatrics for read alouds at school. I actually scared several children today when I yelled a line of Vernon Dursley's from the first Harry Potter book. The fourth graders groan when I have to stop telling Harry's adventures when we run out of time. The first graders die laughing when I read Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus. It makes me so happy to share their joy as they listen to a really good story. I allow myself to be silly and read Fudge's lines in total and complete baby talk, which always makes the third graders smile, and I feel safe making silly animal noises with the kindergartens. Reading to kids makes me a kid again, too.

Yesterday I went to the Molly Brown house & the Capitol building on a third grade field trip. I learned all about Margaret Brown (which is what she was actually called) and how her family struck gold (literally), leading her to be aboard the Titanic (and survive the event). She was a generous humanitarian, and also an excellent decorator if you're into the whole Victorian look. The Capitol was fun as well...trekking up to the top of the inner dome with 30 nine and ten year olds is an experience I think everyone should have. I was glad to learn a bit more about Denver history along with the kids.

Tonight I made a vegan lentil walnut loaf. James keeps calling it meatloaf because that's the most efficient way to describe it, but I find it humorous, as there's not a single animal product in it. It was quite tasty with lots of ketchup and a side of roasted potato wedges and broccoli stems. I will no longer purchase the Kroger Value bags of frozen broccoli cuts. The trunks vastly outweigh the leafy tops...and I don't like to eat the broccoli tree trunks!

I had something else to write about it, but can't remember now. Such is the life of my addled, sleep-deprived brain. I think I will read a few blogs and try to get to sleep.

A funny thing happened...

2011-02-26T17:07:00.002-07:00

I'm reading Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing to the 3rd grade classes. They love pretty much anything Fudge says or does, and I'm loving the chance to read a childhood favorite aloud.

This week we were working on describing a character, based on what the book has told us about the character. We were thinking of words to describe Peter, the older brother and narrator of the book. I had students talking in pairs about words they'd use to describe Peter and why they chose them. When we got back together as a group, I asked for people to share what they'd talked about. I had heard several students saying Peter was jealous of his younger brother Fudge. The first kid I called on told me that Peter was jealous because Fudge gets special food when he refuses to eat. At the same time, another student right behind him held up his hands, scrunched up his face, and said, "Ugh, now I'M jealous!" [because he didn't get to share his answer, which was the same.] His teacher and I died laughing, and then I was able to take a moment to have the student dissect why he was feeling jealous so we could all understand the emotion a little better.

Man, I love a good teachable moment.

Confessions of a sometimes-blogger

2011-02-23T20:31:00.002-07:00

I cannot sew, so I've recently taken to using book repair tape to hem my pants.

Sometimes I listen to pop radio (as in, the songs my 5th grade students listen to).

I feel incredibly happy when I get to listen to three good songs in a row on the radio.

I am a terrible water drinker.

I am known to eat large spoonfuls of peanut butter topped with chocolate chips.

I love to watch M*A*S*H episodes on DVD.

A feast! A feast!

2011-02-20T10:44:00.010-07:00

Last night, there was a feast. We called it an Un-bleak the midwinter feast, in the hopes of increasing the joy in this generally sad, dull month. I do not love February...it always seems to drag on, even though it's the shortest month. This year, I wanted to do something about it, and I wanted to cook a really big meal with my very good friend, Kate.

So we did it: a four course dinner using as many "seasonal" ingredients as appropriate. For us, this meant root vegetables, citrus fruits, and hardy winter greens like kale and spinach. We had SO much fun, and our feast (coupled with the sunny weather with temps in the 50s and 60s) has definitely boosted my spirits.

Course 1: Spinach Soup with Basil and Dill, yogurt drizzle, and Parmesan Crisp garnish

Course 2: Golden Beet and Blood Orange Salad with Fennel

Course 3 (Main): Baked Tofu with Root Vegetable Medley (carrot, parsnip, turnip, sweet potato, fingerling potatoes, onion, Brussels sprouts) and Roasted Kale Chips, served with Balsamic Reduction

Course 4: Lime Yogurt Cake with Blackberry Sauce

All recipes (except the cake) came from various Mollie Katzen cookbooks. I highly recommend adding one to your kitchen, even if you aren't a vegetarian (or if you're a sometimes vegetarian like me).

I'd laugh, if it didn't make me want to cry

2011-02-18T17:23:00.002-07:00

Me: [while reading a book about animals to 3-5 year olds] Who likes to eat hamburgers? Where does hamburger come from?

Child: Burger King!

Sigh. If you know me, you're aware that knowing where your food comes from is a passion of mine. Friends, there is much work to do.

Three work stories

2011-01-22T16:01:00.004-07:00

I was grateful for two things on Thursday: warm, gingery, spicy sweet potato soup (my bowl seemed to refill every time I looked down) & outside recess.

The words "indoor recess" strike fear in any elementary school teacher's heart. Kids are meant to run and play outside. This is basically the only way they can get their brains ready to work in the classroom. When they have to stay inside because it is too cold or snowy, they are miserable. They start to act in crazy, random ways. They spin in circles, stick gum on computer keyboards, and hide in corners. They cannot focus in the classroom. Teachers are miserable, too. Indoor recess means they not only have to supervise these now-crazed individuals while they attempt to play board games, read a book, or play a math game on the computer, but also have to deal with the crazy for the rest of the afternoon.

So today I am grateful that while there is snow on the ground, it is above freezing and the sun is shining. Thank you, Jesus.

*********
Yesterday was our second RIF distribution day at our school. RIF stands for Reading is Fundamental. It's a federally funded program that puts up 70% of the cost for every kid in a school to take home 3 free books a year. For many of our students, these are the only books they have at home. I'm working with two parent volunteers to coordinate it this year, and it's been such fun. I spend the whole distribution day in the auditorium, setting up books, helping students get settled when they arrive, helping kids look for books, stamping and writing names, and generally controlling chaos. Yesterday I was in my element. It's so great to watch the kids get new books and just enjoy themselves making crafts and eating snacks. It was also great for me to see that just 6 months into this job, I DO know most of the names of the students at our school. I CAN handle the chaos when 7 kids want me to listen to them/help them at the same time. I know what kinds of books our students love to read, and I love working with these kids. There were many highlights yesterday, but this is my favorite:

Me: "What's your name? I can't remember."

Kindergartner: [big grin] "Buzz Lightyear."

Me: "What? I know that's not your name! What's your name, for real this time?"

Kindergartner: "Jacob."

[Yes, I'm aware that I just said that I know most students' names. But there are literally 150 3, 4, and 5 year old students at our school. Needless to say, I'm still working on names.]

*********
I know that this new job is a much better fit for me, based on the fact that I am able to confidently put myself out there and try things I would have been loathe to do at the BP. Yesterday was a great example. We had quite a few parent volunteers yesterday, two of them being parents of 3 students. Spanish is their first language, and is the second language, if at all, for most of our volunteers. So I decided to greet them and introduce myself in Spanish. And I did it! (with just a few verb tense/article issues) While this seems so little, it's hard for me. I'm grateful for these chances to practice Spanish everyday, and for kind, patient parents who wait for me to finish my slow, poorly-constructed sentences. We also have some DPS high school students who do mentoring in our preschool/kindergarten. Today they came to help with RIF for a little. They read with our kids, and afterward, I struck up a conversation with them about future plans, since they were seniors. These young women were so full of life and confidence, with such great dreams! One wanted to work with kids in a school and eventually get a counseling degree. The other girl wanted to be a plumber. I replied with great enthusiasm that this was an awesome goal. She told me that most people are skeptical and doubtful when she states her plan.

Again, this job has given me confidence and hope in ways that I couldn't have imagined 6 months ago. It isn't my dream job, but what I'm realizing more and more is that LOTS of kinds of jobs make me happy. If I'm educating, working with people (preferably kids), and not sitting at a desk all day, I can be happy.

This Just In:

2010-12-17T19:56:00.001-07:00

I have officially finished my first semester as a school library worker!

We celebrated with leftovers for dinner, followed by buying a new camera at Best Buy (our Christmas present to each other) and wrapping it up with a trip to Yogurtland. (Taro froyo is amazing!)

Now settling in for a little Mad Men and chamomile tea. Hooray for winter break!

Well, at least I'm not bored?

2010-11-30T19:20:00.002-07:00

My work week started off with a bang: someone (a student, I'm betting) stuck gum to the output feeder on the copier in the library.

I can honestly say I never expected to solve THAT technical difficulty in my life. Not to worry, I've pried off the gum and scrubbed my hands thoroughly.

Also, on Monday, I solved the sound problem we'd been having with two Promethean boards in the building....I pushed one button. It's nice to have it fixed, but a little ridiculous that it took half a second to solve, yet this solution has evaded me for weeks.

Today I chaperoned for the third grade field trip to Confluence Park to learn about Colorado history. We were outside in 30-40 degree weather, floating pool noodles/"logs" down the South Platte River, playing games that simulated panning for gold, learning some wilderness skills we'd need to survive in the 1860s, learning about the flood in Denver in the 1960s and the hill of trash (covered with dirt and grass) that was created because of it.

I spent the day asking students to stay with the group, to face forward, to walk in line with their partner, to listen to directions, to please stop rolling down the hill...things that I say (almost) every day. But today I got to do it outside, and I also got to ask students questions about Colorado history and what they'd learned.

All in all a good day. I can only imagine what the rest of the week will include.

Why I love my food co-op

2010-11-25T10:03:00.002-07:00

For lunch yesterday, I ate delicious beef borscht with local beef and beer bread with cheese and Italian spices. The best part of this lunch, other than the taste? I didn't make any of it.

Back in September, Erin shared an idea she'd been working on that summer--the idea of a food co-op. She wanted to can, freeze, make jam, dehydrate fruit, make her own tofu, peanut butter, yogurt, bread...and was exhausted by the prospect of doing it all herself. So, she asked a group of us like-minded folk if we wanted to join her in creating "shares" of homemade food items and sharing them with a group of people. James and I were totally in--we are just two people with one tiny freezer and no canning skills. We'd chosen to freeze one thing each year, be it strawberry jam or applesauce, and just buying the other things we wanted.

There are 9 "shares" in the group (we are 14 people, but many of us live in pairs) and we meet twice a month. On the first Sunday of the month, 5 groups bring their shares--9 total, for the full group. On the third Sunday, the other 4 groups bring their shares. This way, each group is only making one item per month, but we all receive items twice a month.

Items have varied, from jam to pasta to homebrew, pesto, yogurt, soup, bread, granola, cheese, beef jerky, all homemade. The only rule is that you must bring 9 shares and that each month, there should be some kind of bread item. Determining how much of each item counts as a share is tricky, and we base that off of the materials, time, and energy that goes into a well-made loaf of bread. This means that pesto shares are significantly smaller than soup shares.

So far it's working out great. It helps me look forward to Sunday evenings again, and gives James and I a chance to make a lot of the things we've always wanted to, but have never gotten to. Next week, I'm tackling homemade peanut butter--I hope my food processor stands up to the challenge. :)

I am happy to see how well our co-op seems to be going, and love talking about it. If you want to start your own group, let me know--I'd be happy to share more details. I also hope to take this idea with me wherever we may go next, and start a new group in a new place. And really, the main reason I love our food co-op? I get to EAT tons of delicious things I would have never attempted to make myself. Yum.

What I Ate, Tuesday edition

2010-11-16T20:24:00.002-07:00

I'm going to be volunteering at Ten Thousand Villages tomorrow evening, so dinner will most likely be random leftovers from the fridge. That means What I Ate night comes early this week!

No pictures of dinner because it was SO delicious there was no time. :)

Tonight's menu was rotisserie chicken from Whole Foods, with side dishes by me: roasted purple potatoes from our CSA share and green beans (frozen from you guessed it, our CSA share) cooked with a little butter, salt, pepper, and granulated garlic.

And, since dinner didn't take much work, I made dessert: homemade apple crisp with ice cream. Yum.

The perfect meal for a day that was supposed to be warm and sunny, but it turned out to be cold and snowy, just in time for our students to leave school today (funny how that works!).

Monday Musings

2010-11-15T20:43:00.003-07:00

To put it mildly, I am not a fan of the person who invented Silly Bandz and the like. Just what elementary school students need: one more thing they can fiddle and play with during class. They come to school with a 2-4 inch wide layer of Silly Bandz on each arm! It would drive me crazy, but they love to play with them. This also drives me crazy. Just thought you should know. :)

I spent my evening eating, singing, and talking with a lovely group of folks from church. Good food, good wine, and beautiful singing. I love how singing makes me feel awake and inspired--I drove home feeling pretty good about life.

I LOVE puffy vests. I just bought a second one (from the boys section of Old Navy) and have worn it pretty much every chance I've had. I just wish puffy down vests were acceptable work attire. I should've been a lumberjack, after all!

Your 17-year old self

2010-11-14T20:01:00.002-07:00

Today's sermon at church was about dreams. Vern posed the question--what did your 17-year-old self dream of becoming or doing? Are you fulfilling those dreams and living them now?

This got me thinking--I was 17 from 2002-2003, spanning my junior to senior year. I can't really recall what my dreams were. I think mostly I wanted to leave northwest Ohio and go to college. I wasn't sure where yet, and I didn't know what I wanted to be, but that I would probably major in biology. My other dreams weren't really about the future. They were about wishing for a boyfriend and wishing for my friend problems to end and wishing for my 100 meter dash time to improve in track.

I was an avid blogger in high school. I started my first blog on Teen Open Diary at the end of 2001 as a junior in high school. So tonight I looked at some blog entries from age 17, and decided to share a few excerpts. Enjoy!

(names are all changed to first initial to protect the innocent/guilty)

January 2002:
"you know, i've actually begun to tolerate all the seniors i used to "hate". i can deal w/ M now, and i've actually been having fun with T and E lately. i guess i've just come to be able to accept everyone for who they are...and at least try to deal w/them. i guess i'm just one of those ppl that can have fun w/ whoever they're w/, which is a definite good thing!"

February 2002:
"homecoming was on friday, and i GUESS it was ok...no guys ever dance w/ me...i HATE that!!!"

February 2002:
"first of all, i have the lead in the musical. all the seniors are made at me. i hate ppl. everyone is annoying. i failed my chemistry test today. i have a huge crush on M that i thought i was over, but i'm not. i'm never going to get him. school sucks. i don't want to go back. i hate my life. i want to go crawl in a hold and just not talk to ppl anymore, except M of course :)"

Yes I was real band nerd--August 2002:
"marching band is important to me, it's something i can take pride in. i LOVE the feeling of being cheered for EVERY SINGLE TIME we go on the football field. we're instant celebrities...ppl go crazy when it's our turn at the fair show...we're the best band in the county! i can't even describe the adrenaline rush i feel during and after a band show. i can't understand not caring about this at all."

How to stay warm at a soccer game when it is 32 degrees outside

2010-11-13T22:48:00.004-07:00

1 pair knee-high Smartwool socks
1 pair of regular smartwool socks
1 pair of running tights
1 pair of jeans
1 black tank top
1 long sleeve shirt
1 Techwick shirt
1 lightweight fleece
1 puffy down vest
1 giant red puffy down coat
1 Mongolian hat with fleece lining
1 pair of gloves
1 pair of mittens
1 pair of boots with the fur
1 Rapids scarf
1 Thermos of warm hot chocolate

Put this all together and what do you get?

One mostly warm and incredibly happy Colorado Rapids fan! We are now the MLS Eastern Conference champions!!

Looking at Leaves

2010-11-13T16:33:00.002-07:00

Have you ever truly looked at a leaf? Analyzed if its edges have teeth or are smooth, categorized it as compound or single, noticed its variations in color? Grouped leaves that you collected by their color, edge shape, or other features?

I did that today.

I attended a Project Learning Tree workshop. We trudged through the park to examine damaged trees and collect leaves. After categorizing our leaves and discussing their features, we made figures or sculptures out of them. There were turkeys, people, moose, and other creative leafy designs.

One of the reasons I chose biology as my college degree was that biology forces you to stop and pay attention. To learn about leaves, trees, ecosystems, habitats, cells, etc you have to notice and observe. You cannot successfully study biology with a textbook alone. You have to go outside and get dirty. You have to manipulate cells and experiment. I navigate life as a biologist--I ask questions, I explore, I stop suddenly and look down at the ground to identify the insect walking in front of me. I choose to be an environmental educator (yes, I count myself as one, even though my current environment is a library) because environmental education happens outside, where you have to be quiet and look closely to see the bird nest in the tree or the pattern the branches of a tree have or the ant carrying a piece of leaf across the forest floor. I choose to be an environmental educator because environmental education is holistic. Is it not just science. It is social studies, current events, language arts, math, visual arts, and skills-based.

I challenge you to pick up a leaf today and really look at it. Then pick up another one, and compare the two. Stop and focus on something natural outside yourself. I am always amazed at what I learn.

Cincinnati Chili recipe

2010-11-12T17:12:00.004-07:00

Somehow, I forgot to blog yesterday! I wish I could tell you it was becuase my life is incredibly stressful and my crazy brain forgot. But that's not even true--I had the day off yesterday and I was sitting and watching Community, 30 Rock, and The Office while eating homemade vegetable soup and garlic bread. So I have no excuse for forgetting. Perhaps (hopefully?) today will be a double post day.

This post will be an easy one--my mom's recipe for Cincinnati Chili, which I believe came from Sesame Street magazine. I've chosen to scale down the amount of meat and increase the beans in the recipe, but have also included the original. Enjoy!

Cincinnati Chili Emily-Way

Ingredients:
1/2 lb ground beef or buffalo (original recipe calls for 1 lb)
1 medium onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 T chili powder
1 t cinnamon
1/4-1/2 t cayenne
1/4 t allspice
1 t cumin
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
3 oz tomato paste
1/3 c water
1 can red beans (the original recipe calls for using the beans as a topping, rather than part of the chili)
spaghetti noodles
grated cheddar cheese
diced raw onion
oyster crackers

Method:
1. Put the beef, onion, and garlic in a skillet with tall sides (or a medium saucepan) and cook on medium heat until browned and cooked through.
2. Add all of the spices and continue to cook for one minute to lightly toast the spices.
3. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, and water and stir to combine.
4. Add the can of beans and stir again.
5. Cover and simmer on medium/low for 30 minutes-1 hour, stirring occasionally. (The time is not important..the longer it simmers, the deeper the flavor will be. I generally start to boil the water for the pasta once it begins to simmer and then wait until the pasta is done to turn off the chili).
6. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Drain.
7. When chili is done, serve it on top of spaghetti and top it with onions, cheddar cheese, and oyster crackers, (and red beans if you made it the traditional way, not the Emily way).

Enjoy!

What I Ate Wednesday

2010-11-10T19:40:00.003-07:00

Winter came to Denver this week. We don't mess around in these parts--transition between fall and winter? That stuff is for sissies. No, we prefer to go from 70 degree weather to snowy and 30-40 degrees in a matter of 24 hours. Yesterday snow flurries fell for much of the afternoon, and even turned to hail for a few minutes on my drive home from work. Today it is cold in the way that gloves and a light down jacket did not keep me from shivering on my drive into work. Thank goodness for warm coffee, an efficient car defroster, and the knowledge that if there's one thing I know about Colorado winters, it is that anything can and will happen. It will be 70 again this winter. And 10. We just have to wait for it.

And now, on to What I Ate Wednesday! Wednesday is reason for celebration, as tomorrow DPS is celebrating Veteran's Day with a day off from school, and it's finally cold enough for soups, stews, and chili, my favorite things to cook. Tonight's meal, in all its iPhone 4 glory, is below:

A definite favorite, this is my mom's recipe for Cincinnati Chili, which came from Sesame Street magazine. I am from Ohio, where this chili over spaghetti is taken very seriously in some parts. But, as I hail from rural northwest Ohio where my beloved CC is taken less seriously, I have taken a few liberties in preparation at which purists will cringe. My chili layer uses just a 1/2 pound of ground beef and a full can of red beans. (The "real" Cincinnati chili is meat-only. Red beans are meant to be a topping.) The traditional spices of chili powder, cumin, cinnamon, allspice, and cayenne are added and then we simmer until it smells irresistible in the kitchen.

Then it's served over a bed of spaghetti noodles and topped with onions and cheddar cheese. We had no oyster crackers, or we would've added those, too. We served it with a side of (unpictured) steamed broccoli and last night's Glee episode. Looks like Puck's reappearance brought back the Glee I dearly loved from last season--Mr. Schue as a non-terrible person, awesome music (how great was Teenage Dream?), and thought-provoking themes.

A List

2010-11-09T22:20:00.002-07:00

Update on Monday: while packing my lunch I managed to slice right through my thumbnail instead of slicing through the homemade bread I was attempting to pack. Now I am wearing a giant bandaid on my thumb. It was a true Monday after all. :)

For today's entertainment, it is late and I need to go to bed, so you get a list:

Actual topics our 4th grade students are researching for a non-fiction feature article (some humorous, some quite thoughtful):

Did dinosaurs that looked like dragons exist?
Elephant killing
How fast can the Denver Nuggets run?
Gang violence in Mexico
The history of Halloween
BMX biking
Famous pranksters and hoaxes
How to discover a new planet

Things I do that impress my students that I don't find impressive:

Attached hooks to the computer monitors so I could hang headphones from them. I literally made several 3rd grade girls' days with this simple feat.
Rattled off a 3rd grader's full name, hyphenated last name and all.
Type very fast without looking at the keys

Today I...

2010-11-08T19:25:00.002-07:00

woke up and it was light outside!
accidentally made coffee-flavored hot water instead of coffee, because the filter got folded over in the drip coffee maker
shelved fiction books
planned my lesson for the 3rd grade about using our online catalog
read books about friendship to two second grade classes
printed overdue notices for multiple students
hung hooks on all the computers to hook the headphones on to
had story time with two of the ECE/Kindergarten classes
came home and took a walk through crunchy fall leaves while talking to my mom on the phone
made gingery butternut squash soup for dinner
ate the soup, Bosnian bread (from our food co-op--post about this coming soon!), and spinach salad for dinner while watching Friends re-runs

Not bad for a Monday...we'll see what tomorrow brings.

Choir

2010-11-07T21:04:00.003-07:00

My first experience with choir came when I was quite young, just a 3rd grader. Our region of Ohio had an audition-only choir for youth grades 3-9 called Junior Choral Society. I so wish I had pictures, because we wore dark plaid skirts (the boys wore navy pants) with white shirts. There were matching plaid ties for the boys and these little snap on cross-over ties for the girls. We were dorky, but we sang great music and it was a lot of fun.

Fast forward to high school, where my tone-deaf music teacher sucked all the fun out of choir, so I only joined for two years, and then it was only because that way I wouldn't have a study hall 3 days per week. She was, however, oblivious and we got away with all kinds of things, like making Pop Tarts in a toaster in the bass section during rehearsal.

In college, things got more serious. I joined the Chorale and enjoyed singing Verdi's Requiem with a huge choir and the Toledo Symphony Orchestra. I continued to sing all through college, and got into the upper level choir, Chamber Choir, my junior year. That year I went from singing Soprano (generally 2nd Soprano) to singing 2nd Alto, the lowest female part. It was a tough transition, and I was fully convinced I was truly a Soprano. I have since embraced my alto-ness. Those were some really great years. The picture at the top of this post is from our choir tour over spring break (yes, our dresses were unflattering). The joy of singing together and working on really challenging music and really GETTING it was amazing. It is so good for my brain to do things like that.

Also in college, I sang with the Women's World Music choir. We wore ethnic cloth with our choir dresses and sang amazing, loud, energetic, exciting music. One of the best feelings is when a song sort of takes over inside you, and your whole body just beams with excitement and joy. This happened most often with the loud, joyful music we sang in the women's choir. The energy of a song where you can let go and have fun is amazing.

After college, I realized how much singing in a choir meant to me. So I joined an area community choir. This was a much different experience than college choir, where many of the members had been vocal performance majors. This was a group of people who liked to sing. It didn't necessarily mean they were good at it, and many of them were older and found the semi-challenging music our director chose too difficult. It was still wonderful to sing with a group of people.

In recent years, choir hasn't been a part of my life. I've been busy, and the experiences I'd had were not that meaningful. But at church last Sunday, we sang a song I'd never heard before. I had to focus on the notes and use my sight reading skills. And my brain just came alive. It was that old feeling, a taste of what I felt in rehearsals in college, when we'd spent hours singing the same passage of Bach and my whole brain was dedicated to getting the notes and the rhythm and dynamics exactly right. I remembered again how important singing with a group of people is to me.

So I am dedicating myself to church choir. It's the level of commitment I can handle at the moment, and while the music is less challenging, it's a great way for me to ease back into singing in choir. Maybe someday I'll audition for a more elite choir, but for now, this is enough. I had my first rehearsal with them this morning, and it was so good to focus on something outside of me. I'll keep you updated with how it's going!

Pumpkin Fest

2010-11-06T19:38:00.015-06:00

5 years ago, 5 girls had a vision.

A vision to celebrate the delicious-ness of pumpkin foods. A vision to celebrate the glory of fall. A vision to gather together to feast and celebrate sunshine and good weather before the drudgery of winter in Northern Indiana.

The first Pumpkin Fest, in 2006, was a success:

At the bottom of the invitation it reads, "Get ready to be pumpkin-afied!"

Then I hosted another one (my housemates from the previous year had all moved away), so I continued the tradition with a new group of people. We called this one the 2nd Annual Fest, Fall Edition, as one of my housemates was not terribly enamored with pumpkin foods. It was still delicious, as Sarah exhibits below.

Then we hosted another one--this time in Denver. Pumpkin Fest 2008:

2008's offerings included homemade pumpkin donuts, pumpkin whoopie pies, savory pumpkin cumin/chile-spiced dip, and pumpkin soup served in a pumpkin.

I seem to have no pictures of Pumpkin Fest 2009, so we'll skip ahead to 2010, the fifth annual Pumpkin Fest, which did not disappoint. There were TWO types of pumpkin cheesecake, roasted pumpkin seeds, pumpkin ganoush (like baba ganoush, but with pumpkin, not eggplant), pumpkin dip with apple slices, pumpkin lentil sausage soup, pumpkin ice cream, and more. My contribution was Mama Pea's pumpkin scones, which were a HUGE hit. Mine weren't vegan (I used butter and cow's milk) and I used 1/2 white flour and 1/2 whole wheat flour (b/c I didn't have whole wheat pastry flour), but they were egg-free and delicious.

I count myself lucky that I have had the privilege to participate in all five Pumpkin Fests and that 5 years later, I am still friends with all the girls from the original celebration. All but one of us live here in Denver. It is such fun to celebrate this holiday we made up, and it helps me remember to celebrate these friendships, too. I am so lucky have these amazing women in my life.

Here's to many more Pumpkin Fests!

Happiness

2010-11-05T21:50:00.002-06:00

is happy hour on a roof-top patio with my favorite, passionate, hilarious, awesome coworkers overlooking Denver's beautiful skyline.

Happiness is calling your husband to say, "Please preheat the oven to 450 and slice up some peppers and onions! I'm bring home pizza sauce, cheese, and garlic bread."

It is sitting on your couch in your PJs, eating pita pizza and that amazing, terrible-for-you garlic bread from the freezer section while watching Get Him to the Greek.

Happiness is chocolate cake (made in minutes in a mug in the microwave) topped with mint chocolate chip ice cream.

All in all, it was a good Friday night.

Small Group

2010-11-04T20:50:00.003-06:00

Tonight James and I broke from our regular evening routine of dinner, TV watching, and blog reading/computer time, all done from the comfort of our loveseat. Tonight we had our second meeting with our small group from church. The idea behind small groups is to forge connections with other members of the congregation, and to get to know some new faces at church. Our congregation is pretty big, and after two years of regular attendance, I still know just a handful of people's names. We've enjoyed our previous small group opportunities that have given us a chance to get to know a few people a little better.

Our current group is a nice mix of folk, some single, some married, some older, some younger. Our ages range from 22-70 (or 80?) and we come from various professions and walks of life. Tonight we played Catch Phrase, which I think is a really good leveling game. There are words that the younger generations know and words that the older generations know, and sometimes you just get stuck with a tough phrase like slap shot. It was fun to see how different members of our group approached the game--some with lots of hand motions and few words, some with lots of animation, some with a cool, calm, collected attitude. It was fun to laugh and play together, to discuss opinions and ideas, to tell stories.

I have to tell on myself, as I embarrassed myself a little in front of the group tonight. On one of my turns at Catch Phrase, I gave the following clues to my team: "Oh, Hugh Hefner lives in one of these." "Mansion!" my team guessed confidently. "No," I said, "it's a place where you might entertain women." Time ran out and my team was stumped. The other team tried to guess the word, debating bachelor pad as a possibility. At this point I realized I had gotten the meaning of the word all wrong, and would have been much better off with a clue such as, "a room at the top of a hotel or condo/apartment building," and start to giggle.

The word? Penthouse.

Oops.

The thing is, though I don't know these people well, I did not feel mortified or even embarrassed for long. I didn't for an instant consider that these folks might think less of me. I giggled (until I cried, as I often do when I laugh a lot) and made fun of myself. We all had a good laugh and moved on. It's so great to feel that safe and comfortable in a group of former strangers, now friends. Intentional gatherings to get to know people in your community really work. I am glad to be a part of such a group.

What I Ate: Wednesday edition

2010-11-03T19:20:00.003-06:00

It may not yet be apparent, but I am challenging myself to write a blog post every day in November. (It has not escaped my attention that I missed Nov. 1, so maybe I'll double-post one day to make up for it.) I used to really enjoy blogging, journaling, and other forms of writing, but I've really lost interest recently. I'd like to get back in touch with the creative writing part of my brain, so I'm hoping that posting more will get me excited.

Because I am going to need something to talk about, I'm copying Abby and toying with the idea of daily themes. One I'd definitely like to do is What I Ate, where I write (and hopefully photograph) my Wednesday night dinner. I am the kind of person who reads cookbooks for fun and thinks about food constantly. Cooking and baking are some of the things I enjoy the most, so food posts are quite common on this blog.

Tonight I made an old stand-by that we probably eat at least once a month in Casa SW: frittata. Tonight's plate included:

Sweet Pepper Frittata: potato, onion, and tiny sweet peppers from our CSA share sauteed with garlic, basil, thyme, and red pepper flake. Tossed with a little feta cheese, topped with beaten egg & milk, sprinkled with cheddar cheese and baked until bubbly and edges are browned.
Toast with butter
Green beans (frozen from the peak of CSA season this summer when we got a 5 pound bag of green beans per week) steamed and tossed with black pepper, granulated garlic, and while wine vinegar.

No pictures this week because dinner was devoured before I thought of it!

School-related Musings

2010-11-02T20:38:00.003-06:00

It seems that computer problems happen only on busy days when computer functionality is most required.

Nothing beats a fourth grader telling me to "have a good day." (totally unprompted!)

Some days you will spend 45 minutes untangling pairs of headphones.

Other days you will be surrounded by the laughter of students who are actually enjoying learning about the Dewey Decimal system.

Coffee is the best antidote to starting work at 7:30 am.

It is truly amazing to have students waving, smiling, and saying hi to you each and every day. (even if you did just lecture them for forgetting their library books. Again.)

Everyone should be able to count (at least some of ) their coworkers as friends.

I really did learn most of the things I needed to know in kindergarten: share your resources. respect others. tie your shoes or you'll trip.

I smile at least once a day, thanks to the creativity and hilarity of my students.

Rainy Day Baking

2010-10-10T12:10:00.004-06:00

Pumpkin muffin photo shoot!

Today it is rainy and gray out, but it smells cinnamon-y and delicious inside our warm house. When I am stressed and worried, as I have been much of the time recently, there are lots of things that soothe me: journaling, warm cups of tea, hugs from friends, baking, and more. Today and yesterday, I was called to the kitchen. I'd like to share what I whipped up while listening to good music and wearing one of my favorite wedding presents: a homemade apron with my initials hand-embroidered on it!

First up, my mom's pumpkin muffins recipe. I generally make it her way, but this time I wanted to try something a little "healthier." (Only mildly healthier b/c I added chocolate chips. :)

Karen's Pumpkin Muffins
Makes 12-15 muffins

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups spelt flour
1 3/4 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
1/2 t pumpkin pie spice
6 T canola oil
1/3 c brown sugar, packed
1/6 c sugar (I would probably leave this out next time)
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup + 2 T pumpkin
1/2 c milk
mini chocolate chips, to taste
2 t sugar + 1/4 t cinnamon, mixed

Method:
Combine all ingredients (except chocolate chips) in a bowl. Fill greased muffin tins 2/3 full with batter. After filling half of the muffin tins, stir chocolate chips into the batter. Fill remaining muffin tins. Sprinkle muffins with cinnamon sugar. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

I have found myself tired of store-bought granola bars, but they are one of the easiest snacks for me to pack for work. I looked through my accumulated bookmarks from my extensive food blog reading, and found these breakfast bars from So I Married a Chef. I made just a few modifications: I used currants and dried cherries instead of raisins and dried cranberries. I used a combination of sunflower seeds and walnuts for the 6 T of nuts the recipe calls for. I used just one teaspoon of vanilla (I have to ration our amazing Dominican vanilla!) and 3 eggs + milk to equal the 3/4 c of liquid egg whites (per Carly's suggestion). I haven't tried them yet, but they smell and look fabulous!

The other recipe I want to share is a fun one. One of the pastors from my home church in Ohio used to always bring baked oatmeal to our Easter brunches. My mom has the recipe. I've made it many times with many combinations of dried fruits and nuts (my favorite being candied pecans and dried blueberries, or without either. Recently, I've been changing the recipe a bit so I can feel ok about eating it more often (the original recipe has a lot of sugar and oil in it). Enjoy!

Dee's Baked Oatmeal
makes a 9x13 pan, which is enough for 4 servings + leftovers

Ingredients:
2 eggs, beaten
1 c milk
1/2 c unsweeted applesauce
1/2 c brown sugar, packed
2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt (the original recipe calls for 1 t--I don't like to use a lot of salt because high blood pressure runs in my family. I've found you can generally reduce the salt by half and baked goods turn out fine. If you aren't used to a reduced salt diet, use 1 t!)
1/2 t cinnamon
3 c rolled oats (the original recipe calls for quick oats--use what you have)
1/2 c dried fruit (I used dried cherries this time)
1/4 c-1/2 c chopped nuts (I used about 1/4 c of walnuts)

Method:
Whisk the ingredients from eggs to cinnamon together in a large bowl. Stir in the oatmeal, fruit, and nuts. Pour mixture into a greased 9x13 pan and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Serve warm with milk. (I find it delicious cold as well.)

Hope you enjoy if you try these recipes!

Hope

2010-10-09T16:39:00.003-06:00

This is a photo of our poor neglected tomato plant. I stopped watering the plants over a week ago...I've just gotten busy and the season is ending and my attention to the plants is waning. Today I walked out the back of the house and noticed that our little tomato plant has two new blossoms, and one red tomato. The top part of it wilted and died mid-summer. It didn't seem to phase the plant, which went on to produce quite a few tomatoes. Those little blossoms gave me hope today.

Recently I have been feeling like the brown, dead part of the plant. Without going into a lot of detail, I'm having to make a very difficult decision that I'd prefer to just not deal with. It's a decision that is challenging, because, like most, it is impossible to have all the facts. This decision will have to be based on a lot of what if's and projections, and since it involvs my health, I am hesitant to base my decision on shaky ground.

This has left me feeling dead and dry, sad about my life and sorry for myself. I am not doing a good job of just dealing with the cards I have been dealt. I am spending my energy asking 'Why me?' and wishing fervently for this whole thing to go away.

Those two, tiny yellow blossoms on the tomato plant I'd given up on give me just an inkling of hope that this might turn out ok. That my friends, family, and my faith will watch out for me and the millions of scary thoughts that run through my head just might not happen. I am a bit more hopeful today. I am striving to be ok with my fate and to continue to blossom, even though things are hard right now. Here's to hope.

Epic Lunch

2010-09-11T15:34:00.002-06:00

For lunch today, we dined on a trio of bruschetta: traditional tomato (with farmer's market tomatoes and homegrown basil), avocado (made with James' jalepeno "pesto"...we're not sure what to call it, but it is spicy, smoky, and delicious), and eggplant (roasted eggplant with feta) all on farmer's market baguette.

Dessert was a cream cheese/chocolate swirl brownie made by a coworker's sister we brought home from their fun dinner party last night.

Have I mentioned that I love summer? Right now, everyone on the East coast is mourning the end of summer and celebrating the coming of fall. I love living in the West, where the temps are cooling and it feels more fall-like, but we're still in the full bounty of summer produce, with (hopefully) several more weeks of corn and tomatoes to come.

Panther Power

2010-08-21T17:32:00.002-06:00

Yesterday I introduced myself to 400 elementary school kids at a school-wide assembly. I put up my Panther Paw when I noticed another teacher raising hers (this is the "quiet" signal). I looked around at the kids in the room and felt their energy and enthusiasm. I thought to myself..."I think I can do this!"

I haven't updated in so long, because life has been a crazy whirlwind of change and busyness. I just started a new job as the library paraprofessional at an elementary school in Denver. I am completely in charge of our library & computer lab, and soon it will be full of kids all day long. Kids I will read books to and discuss topics they're working on in school. Kids who will try to change all the icons on the computer and listen to music programs they aren't supposed to have access to, and will probably do a google image search for "haciendo amor." And I am excited! This school has a wonderful, positive energy. It has struggled, but it is improving, growing, and changing. These kids and teachers work hard. The school has a dual-language immersion program for age 3-3rd grade, so all kids are instructed in 50% English & 50% Spanish. They graduate the program as bi-literate individuals. The early childhood & kindergarten program is a Montessori program. I really think I'm going to like it here, even though I know nothing about library science and I'm making things up as I go along.

Leaving the Butterfly Pavilion was hard, but I am ready to try a new experiment in the formal education world. I had never quit a job because I was wanting something new. I'd only ever quit because I was moving or graduating or something like that. This was something new, but it was good. And it feels like I'm taking the right step.

Ask me in a month how I'm feeling, but right now I am happy to be a Panther! (my new mascot)

E'toy llena

2010-07-14T20:29:00.009-06:00

Guys. How can it possibly be July? There is just no way that's possible. I think this summer has gone by at warp speed, and the fact that it is mid-July is just about impossible for me to fathom. I had really high hopes for this summer, since I wouldn't be planning a wedding. Don't get me wrong, this summer has been a blast, but it has gone by way too fast! Anyway, I digress. Here's what I actually wanted to write about.

The hardest part of yoga for me has always been those beginning moments when the instructor asks the class to sit quietly, to turn ourselves to our breath and listen to our bodies, and above all, to sit still. Two years of yoga practice later, I am still the one fidgeting when I am supposed to be sitting cross-legged, with my hands resting on my knees, palms facing up. While I fidget, I love this posture. Sitting with my cupped palms facing the sky, I feel open to possibility, open to the great vastness of the universe. It is really an awe-inspiring feeling.

Today, as I was driving home from work in rush hour traffic, a sense of gratitude washed over me. My hands literally felt full with the beautiful things happening in my life. I decided to make a list to remember the moment. I am feeling very full with gratitude about these things:

a cookie when I needed it most: I didn't pack enough food for work today, and by 4 pm I was hungry and without a snack. Luckily, a coworker shared some truly epic chocolate chip pecan cookies.
a fan: Our AC is broken at work during one of the hottest weeks this summer. It's hot. Luckily, my cube-mate realized that our space heater also has a cool "fan" option. While it was still pretty toasty, our cube remained significantly cooler than the rest of the office.
good friends: One of my very good friends, Kimberly, and her sister came through Denver last night on the tail end of their epic-sounding road trip. I haven't seen her in almost a year. It was so wonderful to have her here and to realize how easily we fell back into talking normally with one another, cuddling on the couch and reminiscing about past times together. It was really wonderful.
good music: Music has an amazing effect on one's mood. On my drive home today, I popped in the CD James' cousin made. I haven't listened to it in a long time, but the singer/songwriter style, poignant lyrics, and fun instrumentals made for a very pleasant ride home. Such honest, open music & singing.
calm within the storm: These next few weeks are going to be so crazy. Somehow I (so far) seem to be holding it together. While a mix of work and personal responsibilities are making the next month seem insurmountable at times, I am still finding time for yoga, cooking, watching Big Bang Theory episodes, and reading for pleasure. Life is good.
possibility: There are a lot of changes coming for me, many of which I'm not ready to share at this point. It feels good that there are some unknowns in my life. They don't feel as terrifying as they did earlier, and it seems like there is just so much potential.

Overall, I feel peaceful tonight. As I used to tell my Dominican host mother when I couldn't possibly fit another bite of rice & beans into my stomach, "E'toy llena*." [I'm full.]

*Yes, it should be Estoy llena. Dominicans do not say their "s's."

Foodie at heart?

2010-05-25T21:02:00.003-06:00

Is it a good sign that I was planning out my breakfast while still half asleep in bed this morning? I don't really consider myself a foodie, just a lover of quality food, but in true foodie fashion, I had a vision by the time I got into the kitchen this morning. What I wanted was a sprouted wheat bagel with butter and a few chocolate chips sprinkled on it. (Don't worry, I also had a half with cream cheese and jam, much more normal and less filled with saturated fat.) That buttery, chocolatey bagel half was total perfection and exactly what my body wanted. Perfect with a cup of fresh, small batch roasted fair trade coffee from the farmers' market.

There is such satisfaction in really being in tune with your body and honoring what it wants. Yes, often my body wants chocolate or a second piece of cake. I do not always give in. But I am always surprised that when I really listen, my body often craves greens or veggies or fruit. My body really does know best and I try hard to honor it.

Tonight I honored my brain's wants: to make use of the yummy, local goat cheese in my fridge in the form of pizza with homemade crust and sauce, topped with cremini mushrooms, spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, a sprinkle of mozzarella, and creamy dollops of goat cheese. Amazing!

Also, all of my Google Buzz updates are about food. I am obsessed.

Sound Bite

2010-05-19T18:13:00.003-06:00

Me: "What do we call the special case that a caterpillar makes around its body?"

Girl: "A racoon!!"

**I know my blog has been all about kids recently, but honestly, it is spring time and my work life revolves around school children visiting the BP on field trips. So enjoy.

Authors

2010-05-06T22:58:00.003-06:00

A third grader asked for my autograph today. I can't think of a better highlight of my day/week.

One aspect of my job is helping with a program called G.R.O.W. which provides science education for some area K-3rd grade students in two school districts with relatively high low-income family populations. The BP works with two other science/cultural organizations to provide a really quality science program for these schools, tied to state standards, of course. Over the course of the program, each classroom writes a non-fiction book. I spent about two weeks going to several of these classrooms to help put their book into a program that will print a real book the kids get to keep. I LOVE this. How many elementary school students get to write a real book that is published in professional-looking book form? They are always very creative and the kids think it is so cool. In my current role, I interact with these kids for literally 30 minutes (it used to be more when I did their classroom programs as well).

At our family night tonight, I led some of the book reading sessions. After each school's session, we let the kids autograph each others' books [they are famous published authors now, you see]. They often ask their teachers to sign their books, but I've never been asked. [Remember, I am just the person behind the computer typing in their text and adding pictures.]

So yes, it was a huge deal when the third grader asked for my autograph. I asked if he was sure, and he said, "Yes, because you helped us."

Don't ever tell me that kids aren't perceptive or that kids from low-income schools aren't conscientious or bright. I wish everyone got to spend time with the elementary school kids at their area schools. It's hard to write them off as "kids these days" when you know just how much they care, notice, and appreciate the adults in their lives.

Sorry to get all preachy. Two years ago I was terrified of entering a classroom and teaching 30-50 elementary school kids at a time. Now, elementary school kids are some of my favorite people.

Encounter at the Public Library

2010-04-26T19:05:00.002-06:00

Scene: Emily is sitting in a chair reading magazines. A little girl in a red sweater skips over.

Girl: Hi! [very cheerful]
Emily: Hi there.
Girl stares at the magazines and giggles to herself. Emily continues reading, smiling.
Girl: My name is Annalisia [I really couldn't tell, so this is a guess.]
Emily: My name is Emily. It's nice to meet you.
Girl: It's nice to meet you, too.
Emily: How old are you?
Girl: I am four years old.
Emily: That's neat. What do you have there? [pointing at little toy in her hand, which turns out to be a small fake bird with a little harness]
Girl: This is my pet bird!
Emily: Oh, what's its name?
Girl: [thinks for a long time and fiddles with the bird's pink & yellow tail feathers] Its name is Pink....because it has a pink feather!

The little girl's mom comes over and asks her if she wants a stamp on her hand from the librarian. "Can you say goodbye?" she asks her daughter. Her daughter complies.

This encounter totally made my day. I love how bold she was, so unafraid to come over and strike up a random conversation with a person she didn't know. When she said hello to me, she said it like she knew who I was and was excited to see me. It was so neat that her mom just let her talk to me while she checked out the library books...she wasn't worried about her, since she could see and hear everything I was saying. She asked her daughter to say goodbye. But what I can't get over is just how uninhibited that little girl was. She wanted to talk to me, and she wasn't afraid, even though I was a stranger. I want to channel some of that freedom and energy. And I'm grateful for this encounter in my Monday afternoon.

Balancing Act

2010-03-28T21:24:00.002-06:00

When I was a kid, my brother and I would sometimes make ourselves what we called, "The Breakfast Special" on a snow day or during spring break, etc. It consisted of a bowl of cereal of our choice, with a slice of "gourmet" cinnamon toast (the key is to put on the butter and cinnamon sugar and then broil it in the toaster oven), along with both hot chocolate and juice. It was our rendition of the cereal commercials we saw on TV. ("all part of a balanced breakfast!")

I am all about balanced eating. To me, this means not beating myself up over a not so healthy lunch or snack. I like to be able to go over what I've eaten during the day and see that my good and bad choices balance each other out. Today is such a striking example of that:

Lunch: salad with organic spinach and greens, feta cheese, lots of veggies, balsamic vinaigrette, and an almost unsweetened green iced tea.

Then it was off to do laundry and study, while one of our former housemates made Bisquick pancakes and a decadent chocolate cake. I licked a beater (yum!) and ate three fluffy pancakes with Earth Balance and fake syrup (first ingredient: corn syrup. Hey, at least it's not HFCS?). While doing laundry, we got a call from some friends who bought a coconut macaroon pie at a church pie auction. Did we want to help them eat it? Of course! We sat at our house and ate large slices of pie with decaf coffee and good conversation.

I like to think that my full-o-nutrients salad lunch balances out the fluffy, virtually nutrient-less pancakes and dense, sugary pie. I also like that I don't beat myself up over this. I am a generally healthy eater, but I still want room for pie and Bisquick in my life. And I just might have to recreate "The Breakfast Special" some day soon.

Spring has Sprung?

2010-03-20T11:43:00.005-06:00

Our house: Saturday morning

Our back porch railing: Friday night

It was sunny & 65 degrees on Thursday. I just thought you should know.

The good news is: we needed the moisture, it's March in Colorado so this is just life, and today it is gloriously sunny, the snow is melting, and tomorrow it should be in the 50s.

How I Am Trying to Cope

2010-03-12T12:51:00.003-07:00

Let's just say that best descriptor of my life right now is overwhelmed.

Work is tough right now. Spring is always a stressful time in my job, but this year, the things on my plate feel like they are really adding up. Let's just say I'm not at all doing a good job of managing my stress. On top of that, I'm studying for a big bad teacher licensure test: General Science. I have been spending the last two months on a steady diet of Physics & Earth Science, subjects I never took a high school or college level class in. Needless to say, I am still studying, and haven't even touched the Biology & Chemistry this test also covers.

One thing I appreciate about the blog world is that there is some level of accountability in putting a plan for your life on the internet. I might not have very many readers, but even just typing this out makes it feel more like an official plan.

Coping strategies:

1. Exercise. I just don't exercise. I'm not proud of this. I'm at the point that I feel so out of shape I don't know where to begin. But I want to make a commitment to yoga at least once a week & walking at least twice a week.

2. Write. I used to keep a paper journal and write often. I processed a lot of stuff in that journal, and I have really fallen out of the habit.

3. Talk. In college I had a spiritual adviser. We met once a week and talked about my life, and not just my thoughts about God and my beliefs. We talked about the stress of student teaching, my new relationship with my now-husband, my thoughts about future careers and vocations. I was a much healthier person because of this. Here in Colorado, I haven't found a new mentor or adviser and am really hurting for older adult wisdom. I plan to ask my church for some pastoral care in this area. I also have an incredibly wonderful, supportive group of girlfriends. Some live here in Colorado, and the others I communicate with mostly through a huge email chain. I haven't written in forever. My silence is partly b/c I feel so overwhelmed by my emotions. But I am going to try harder!

4. Have fun. I want to intentionally plan fun things into my week and weekends. New recipes, new explorations with James, and more. I want to plant some herbs & play in the park. If I plan these things ahead of time, I have something to look forward to in those stressful moments.

So, readers, there you have it. I hope these strategies bring more mental stability to my life in the coming weeks.

How to do cope with stress (especially work-related stress)? What techniques work best for you?

These are a few of my favorite cookbooks

2010-02-28T20:15:00.002-07:00

I have a pretty hefty cookbook shelf--whenever I've moved, they pretty much take up a whole box. I love the internet for quick ideas, but to me, nothing beats flipping through a cookbook and choosing delicious recipes to try. I use a few cookbooks that are pretty standard in the Mennonite world, but may not be as well known to my (few) non-Menno readers. Enjoy!

1. More-with-Less Cookbook: This is the first of the World Community Cookbooks (I call them the trilogy). The premise of this book is learning how to consume less of the world's limited food resources while eating well. This is a popular Christmas gift for young Mennos going off to college, because it is full of basic, cheap, and filling food. Some of my absolute favorite recipes come from this cookbook: cornbread, baked lentil casserole with cheese, quiche with shredded potato crust, and more. I also love all the thrifty tips and its focus on consuming less meat, eating cheaply, but still eating healthfully.

2. Simply in Season: This is the third in this series of World Community Cookbooks (the second, Extending the Table, is about foods from around the world--also great, but I don't use it as often as the other two). This one is all about eating locally and seasonally. The book is divided into 5 sections: Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter, and All Seasons. For each season, there is a list of produce that is in season during that time of year and then recipes that use those ingredients. This is my go-to cookbook. The recipes are simple, delicious, and a great mix of vegetarian & non-vegetarian recipes. Black Bean Sweet Potato Burritos, Hazelnut Coffee Brownies, Lemon Asparagus Pasta, and more! This is a great resource when you buy something new at the farmer's market: what should I do with kale? How about kohlrabi? There's several recipes for most things I bring home, and they are all delicious.

3. Moosewood Restaurant Cooks At Home: Mollie Katzen & the Moosewood Collective write amazing vegetarian cookbooks (they have a restaurant in Ithaca, NY that I am dying to get to some day). Whenever I am in a rut with my vegetarian meals, I turn here. This particular Moosewood cookbook is all about quick recipes that can be made in 45 minutes or less. I haven't found a dud yet! I also love this one b/c for each recipe they give menu suggestions--really helpful when you're short on time and want a full meal. I made James Asian Salmon from this book for his birthday, which was flavorful and amazing!

4. The New Enchanted Broccoli Forest: Another Mollie Katzen cookbook. I also use The Moosewood Cookbook as well and both are chock full of great, creative veggie food. They generally use ingredients I keep on hand anyway and are full of flavor.

Please check out these cookbooks if you're looking for creative and interested vegetarian or non-veggie fare. They've never disappointed me.

V-day

2010-02-14T19:45:00.004-07:00

After spending time with some lovely CO blogger ladies yesterday evening (thanks for a wonderful time Heather, Laura, Kathleen, Lauren, Katie, Beth--and especially Ashley for hosting! I look forward to hanging out with you all again sometime soon!), I am inspired to do two things I rarely do: blog and take pictures of my food.

Valentine's Day started off on the wrong foot when I rolled over in bed and James said, "It snowed." I went out to investigate to find about 3 inches of powder on the ground! We debated whether we'd go to church or snuggle back into bed. We got up and headed to church, which I definitely did not regret. Great hymn singing today, as well as a really fun combined children's/adult choir singing spirituals, followed by me eating half of the world's best cake donut ever (got to love donuts after church every Sunday).

James and I came home, planned meals for the week (including a very special Valentine's feast), and headed out to do grocery shopping. I actually love grocery shopping, especially Whole Foods for fun finds and yummy samples. :) We came to home to complete Operation: V-day Feast.

We had a fun time cooking together in the kitchen...we don't get the chance to cook together that often, but I think we're a good team. We had decided the day before that we wanted to do something with chicken sausage, and with a little searching on one of my fav cooking sites, we found Tomato and Sausage Risotto, which we planned to pair with some roasted green beans.

Oh man, this recipe did NOT disappoint! Yum. I'm looking forward to the leftovers. The recipe's supposed to make 4 servings, but this is so rich and creamy that I think it'll be more like 6 in this house. After lunch, we snuggled up and watched Community and Modern Family while nibbling on chocolate my parents sent us. Both highly enjoyable, especially Abed's antics on Community.

We've spent the evening in a cleaning frenzy, and have an organized fridge, clean kitchen, sparkling kitchen, and vacuumed floors to show for it. I love having a clean house on Sunday evenings! We had planned to make crepes with a blueberry sauce for dessert, but were too stuffed after lunch...we still may execute that plan yet this evening. What a fun foodie filled weekend! I'm so glad I have tomorrow off from work so that I can study and further organize my life.

Home

2010-01-03T20:31:00.003-07:00

We're back. As I dozed in the back of the Super Shuttle van, I woke up and instantly recognized where I was, something I would not have been able to do a year ago.

On our shuttle ride to the airport at the beginning of this trip, our driver was pretty reliant on his gps and missed a turn or two. I would have never realized this fact a year ago. What was once unfamiliar (Denver) is now home.

It was a wonderful trip, full of family, food, games, and general good times. But 5 states and many hours of travel later, it is good to be home. We were in transit for about 12 hours yesterday, during which the following happened:

while waiting to print our boarding passes and check on our delayed flight to St. Louis, a small dog in a tiny duffel bag puked something green its owner's bag and the floor surrounding her
the woman in front of us helped clean it up, just after a clueless young man rolled his bag through it
our flight to St. Louis, which originally got pushed back so far we couldn't make our connecting flight, left earlier than expected
while waiting for said delayed flight, two small boys filled my heart with joy: one ran in circles with total abandon, flapping his arms and giggling like crazy. the other sprinted away from his dad, had an amazing giggle, and had a father who was willing to play with his kid as long as he wanted to
when we got off the plane in St. Louis, we walked the 10 steps to our next gate to hear, "the plane that will take you to Denver is landing in 10 minutes and we'll board as soon after that as we can." We high-fived victoriously to celebrate.
before this, some folks on our St. Louis flight with a serious attitude problem made life a challenge for all surrounding passengers. Please, may they have made their Oklahoma City flight so that no other airport employees had to feel their wrath (I don't understand how being rude and grumpy makes people want to help you [see my last post]).

Once in Denver, we waited an hour for the next shuttle, and two hours later, we were home at last! It was wonderful to travel and see family, but walking in my front door and knowing that this was where I felt safe and happy (even with the over powering scent of incense coming from the college kids downstairs) was an incredible feeling.

Why so mean?

2009-12-18T19:38:00.005-07:00

I worked in retail for about 6 years. Only one customer has ever made me cry.

I had a good conversation with one of my coworkers about the incredibly rude comments she has sometimes received from visitors. Many of them made my jaw drop. This conversation left me wondering: How can people be so mean? How does ridiculing someone else for their career choices make people feel better?

With all of my retail experience, I feel that one of the good things I do for the world is to generally be nice to clerks and cashiers everywhere. In my own retail career, I have been yelled at when we're out of organic lemons and only have conventional ones. I have been yelled at for helping another customer (who was first in line), or for answering the phone, or for not pulling every string in the book to get a regular the type of rice milk they wanted on the shelf. I have watched grown men yell at Boston Market employees for putting the baked apples in the wrong container. I don't know how all this anger helps. So I try my best to be the best customer I can be. I was waiting at the post office one day during lunch time. There was one employee working, and I could tell that he was exhausted. When it was my turn, he apologized for my wait in a dejected tone. I met that apology with a smile and told him it was no problem. I don't understand how being rude helps the situation at all.

I have a theory that everyone should have to start their career in retail. There's something about shopping that puts customers at their worst. They are often upset with the cashier when the cashier is only passing along information from a manager or other supervisor. It is generally not their fault that they are out of size small polo shirts. You learn to see the world this way quite quickly in retail. You learn that you are more likely to go out of your way to help the nice customers who are understanding and calm, and that you will do whatever you can to not have to check out the customer who has already thrown a fit in the baking aisle. You learn that many customers will treat you horribly. I still don't understand why it is that way, but it is true.

I feel that I have a unique outlook on life. My mom used to be a waitress, so I know to never tip less than 20%, no matter what my service was like, and to speak to the manager if there is a problem (especially if the food arrived cold or something like that--this is generally not the server's fault). I worked in retail as a lowly sales clerk, so I know to smile when my checkout person at the grocery store seems frazzled and to engage if they initiate conversation. I know to say thank you and to make my displeasure known as calmly as possible. I truly believe that people will treat you nicely if you treat them with the respect they deserve.

The absolute bottom line is that everyone makes choices about their employment. Some have more freedom to choose than others. Some have to take jobs for the benefits, not their passion for that particular job. And sometimes people truly enjoy their work. I know that some folks looked down on me for spending my first year out of college working as a clerk at the local health food store. But I truly cared about my work, and I learned so much about natural remedies, healthy food, organic produce, local meat, and about myself and my needs in the workplace. Making snide comments about a person's chosen career is not ok. I challenge you to help stop this negativity. It's as simple as smiling at the person bagging your groceries. (in reusable bags, I hope :)

Confession:

2009-12-13T20:45:00.003-07:00

I have become a terrible blogger. This fact has slowly crept up on me, and I am now fully ready to acknowledge it. I love reading blogs, and I could probably do it multiple hours a day. I like reading well crafted and interesting posts...and I used to like creating them myself. Recently, I've been happy to let that slide, and I'm not sure why. So, I decided to let my mind wander and ramble until bed time.

Today was a good day. It started off with orange juice and cereal with almond milk while reading blogs, which is a pretty standard way for me to start my day. I wore a new sweater to church (which is a story in itself--it was given to me for free by one of my summer camper's moms this past summer), and we got there 10 minutes before the service started to encounter a packed house! Today was the children's Christmas program, which means that we got to watch a literal host of angels, the cutest Mary & Joseph, and 4 narrators in very jaunty attire: 1 santa hat, 1 tan fedora, and 1 classy purple velvet dress with sash (these 8 year olds have better style than me!). We got through the donut line early enough to have cake donuts (obviously the most popular ones).

I had leftover lentil soup with a cheese quesadilla for lunch, and shared an apple. (cut into slices, which is really the only way to eat an apple, in my mind. Old habits from having braces die hard.) We ordered some Christmas presents, bought bus tickets for our upcoming Christmas travels, and then went to do laundry. (All I want for Christmas is on-site laundry at my apartment!) Eh, it's not too bad, since we generally do it at our old house and get to chat with old housemates. Upon returning home, I called my parents and chatted for awhile. James made pflinzen for dinner (Russian pancakes, which are the same as crepes), and I indulged in crepes with cream cheese and blueberry jam. Spent the evening getting stuff ready for tomorrow and packaging the mint chocolate cookies I made for the cookie exchange at work. I'm excited to see what kinds I'll come home with!

I can't believe there's only one more work week between me and a 2-week Christmas break that I feel so lucky to have. While tomorrow is a hectic day of back to back meetings and leading a new presentation for our visitors I've never taught before....it's my last Monday at work for two weeks! :) I am also chipper because after a week of sub-zero temperatures, highs were in the 40s for the past two days--amazing what a difference that makes.

On Being a Cheapskate (& loving the earth)

2009-11-10T19:10:00.009-07:00

At least once or twice a week, I look down and take stock of my outfit for the day. Almost everyday, I can count on wearing one item that I bought at a thrift store. Sometimes my entire outfit (excluding under-things) is made up of things that were either thrifted or free. I actually love scouring thrift store for lovely things that others have left behind. Case in point: my favorite pair of shoes.

These babies were found at a Goodwill store. I have worn them for three years now, and they are still in decent shape. I like shopping at thrift stores because tons of clothing is tossed aside that is still wearable. I like the idea of buying things at a cheaper price, and buying reused things instead of new.

Thrift stores are not just for clothes. I outfitted our entire kitchen with dishes & glasses senior year of college for under $10 at a Salvation Army store. I always have a list in the back of my mind of things I'm looking for: sugar bowls, wineglasses, candlesticks, Pyrex baking dishes, etc. When I find them at thrift stores I snatch them up. Most of these things are better made and last longer than what I could buy at Target.

While putting our new apartment together, I have often exclaimed, "Craigslist is amazing!" And it's true. Without Craigslist, getting furniture for our apartment would have been much more expensive.

Every piece of furniture in this picture of our living room was purchased from Craigslist. We also bought our vacuum cleaner, nightstands, and microwave from the site.

I like the thrill of Craigslist. Of finding something promising and contacting the seller...hoping to hear from them right away...and going to check out items. This is my favorite because I generally develop a picture of the person in my mind based on their name and email address. It's great to visualize who I will see...and then be completely surprised. I also like that by being a thrifty cheapskate, by default I am demonstrating my love for the earth. Otherwise, we would have bought a brand new coffee table that was just as nice. This way old things continue to be used, and are not discarded in landfills.

Our most recent (and most awesome, in my opinion) find took 3 months to happen. Since we moved in, we've wanted a table for eating meals at, but have a very limited amount of space to work with. Our kitchen has an awkward counter that takes up the space available for a table. So we decided to look for a round table with drop leaf sides, so it wouldn't take up much space, and cleared a space in our office for it. These tables are hard to come by, and way too expensive to buy new (because they are generally solid wood and well-constructed), so I relegated myself to the search. James and I had made several inquiries that all fell through...until this Sunday. Just 5 minutes from our house, we were able to acquire this:

The novelty of having a table hasn't worn off yet. We look forward to dinner not only for delicious food, but also for the chance to use the table. We're looking forward to treating the table to its first Thanksgiving dinner this month.

I am actually pretty proud of being a cheapskate when it comes to buying used clothing, furniture, and other items. It's a practical and fun way for me to feel like I am doing something ecologically sound.

Public Service Announcement: Always be careful when buying used upholstered furniture. I actually prefer Craigslist to thrift stores because you can talk to the person who is selling the items and take a look at their home. Bed bugs are a big problem, so I don't think I'd purchase something upholstered without interacting with the seller.

Things I Have Learned

2009-10-22T09:37:00.003-06:00

1) I do not, in fact, hate cow's milk. It turns out that I love cow's milk that comes from happy cows, and just do not care for the taste of watery conventional grocery store $1.99/gallon cow's milk. This means that we drink 1 half gallon of happy cow milk every two weeks.

2) Sometimes, the best choice is the lesser evil. I worked at a member-owned co-operative health food store for a year. I love co-ops. I think they are the best places to buy your food--reasonably priced, small enough to provide excellent customer service and relationships, and good food. However, there are 4 co-ops in the state of CO. None of them are in Denver. So I shop at Whole Foods now, the same company that basically puts co-ops out of business when they move into the same town. I believe this is a better choice than a) using gas to get to a co-op, or b) shopping at a regular grocery store for all of my food (we still buy some things there) to avoid supporting the Whole Foods corporation. Here's the thing: because of Whole Foods I can choose which state my food comes from (and avoid Chilean apples and New Zealand kiwis) and choose locally produced meat. I think this is a better choice than buying food from who knows where made from who knows what at a conventional grocery store. I'm still supporting a giant corporation, but it's the best I can do.

3) Grey weather really impacts my mood. Where is the sun, oh lovely state of Colorado? At least the brilliant red & orange tree outside my window adds a burst of color to the grey sky.

4) I love Smartwool socks. Nothing else keeps my feet as toasty.

5) I will always love waking up naturally with no pressing schedule, as opposed to hitting snooze twice and groaning when the alarm goes off.

Weekend Update

2009-09-20T15:37:00.013-06:00

Friday: Semi-hectic morning of work, including teaching one surprise class to a really fun group of kids. Came home to tidy up the house, wash dishes, and make dinner--zucchini fritters & brown tomato gravy. I grated 3.5 c of zucchini that is now in the freezer, just begging to become chocolate chip zucchini cake at any moment. :) In the evening, we had Anna & Brian over for coffee and dessert (hot fudge pudding cake with vanilla ice cream) and games. I was completely destroyed in Ticket to Ride and lost an epic 44 points due to taking a risk too late in the game. Good times.

Saturday: Delicious Waffles (name of the recipe in the church cookbook) in our new waffle maker! Yum. Then we went to the Farmer's Market, and then off on an adventure with Kate. First to Northglenn to buy a Craigslist turkey fryer for James. Not for turkeys, but homebrew. He's pretty happy. Then we went hiking in a Jeffco Open Space, White Ranch Park. Great day for hiking, and it wasn't too strenuous and still beautiful.

Pretty, isn't it?

We don't take ourselves too seriously...

And we found this amazing beetle trying to camouflage on my blue shirt (edit: it's a species of Pleasing Fungus Beetle)

After the hike, James and I were seriously craving pizza, so we made possibly the best homemade pizza we've ever made, using my mom's crust recipe, "homemade" sauce (crushed tomatoes with spices added in), diced sweet orange pepper, spinach, mushrooms, and cheese). We ate while sipping a new homebrew and watching The Office, followed by the movie Adventureland. Both were definitely enjoyable.

Sunday: Woke up at 4 am and couldn't sleep. At 5 am, my chest began to feel tight/heavy, I was lightheaded, and felt like I couldn't breathe deeply. I still feel about the same, but less panicky. I'm assuming it's a lovely combo of sleep deprivation, dehydration (I drank homebrew last night and didn't worry about replenishing water after the hike in the sun), and psychological effects. Hopefully all will improve. We did meal planning, grocery shopping, Community & Parks and Recreation watching, and now James is doing laundry. Our plans to freeze roasted chiles are foiled, as I feel don't feel great, and neither do the friends we were planning to freeze them with. Bummer. Back to work tomorrow, but there's still dinner to look forward to! It might involve the grass fed organic ground beef in our fridge. Thanks for the sale, Whole Foods!

Rehearsal

2009-09-20T15:05:00.004-06:00

I still haven't gotten pics from many friends and family, so I don't have many pictures from the day before the wedding, but I do have a few my dad took at the rehearsal dinner. This picture is a good summation of the event--great conversation. The rehearsal dinner was hosted by James' parents in an Amish family's home. What incredible food! The majority of the produce came from the family garden (my kind of place :). Let me re-create the menu for you:

Salad, homemade bread w/ apricot pineapple or raspberry rhubarb preserves, chicken, roast beef, mashed potatoes, homemade buttered noodles, green beans, marshmallow fluff, and peanut butter, fresh raspberry, and fresh peach pie. Heavenly. The food was amazing, we all ate our fill, and enjoyed just being together.

Friday morning started out like my favorite kind of Goshen morning--at everyone's favorite greasy spoon breakfast place, the County Seat. Before James and I started dating, we met for several friend dates there, eating breakfast and chatting. So it was really awesome to return on the day before our wedding. This time we invited James' parents, Drew & Justine, and my mom (b/c my dad and brother weren't in town yet). Delicious. I ate eggs and homemade raisin toast & a few bites of the famous fritz special from James' plate. :) Yum.

Then we went separate ways to unload stuff at the cabin/set up the church. When I arrived at the church, there were quite a few there to help. James alerted me that one of the sanctuary's windows was broken. He approached me a little hesitantly, not knowing how to tell someone about a broken window in the very same place we were getting married. But I just suggested putting a plant in front of it. We all spent a decent amount of time picking up glass shards to make sure no one cut their feet, and within 20 minutes one of the church members was cutting plywood to fit in the window. It looked fine. I got so overwhelmed at this point b/c it seemed so real, finally. All these people were there to set up the church for us. So I hugged everyone, and we got everything set up, from the candles and vase on the altar to the rows of chairs to the hymnals in...45 minutes! Awesome.

We went to the cabin to meet the rental delivery guys, and to watch in awe as they raised a huge 50x70 foot tent in the air. When it didn't fit in its original spot, the guys were a bit apprehensive, but were reassured when James' uncle jokingly yelled, "The bride says it's ok!" I couldn't be bothered to care too much.

James and I snuck off to eat Chief ice cream for lunch. Mmmm...mint chocolate chip.

We checked into our completely lovely B&B right on the Millrace, then went back to the church to figure out the reserved seats for everyone so we were prepped for the rehearsal. Then I went off to do a makeup trial with my cousin at another cousin's house. Fun to hang out with them and even got to catch a glimpse of my first cousin once removed, Roman.

The rehearsal went so well! James and I came early to let our musician friends in, and almost cried 5x when we heard our processional song, "One Voice" by the Wailin' Jennys, sung by two housemates of mine and accompanied on guitar by one of James' housemates. [As an added bonus, Pink Menno used this song for a video they made--one subtle way to sneak in our Pink Menno convictions/involvement] They practiced together for the first time that day, as they live in Virginia, Alaska, & Indiana, respectively. Amazing. When we practiced, I think we all teared up. So beautiful. Everything seemed so organized. It was great to have another good friend, Sarah, help get the processional organized and properly timed. Yet another time that our amazing friends shined!

Then off the rehearsal dinner, followed by James and I a) forgetting gifts we still needed to give out at the rehearsal dinner location and b) realizing that I should probably pick up my dress from my aunt & uncle's house. Finally, we got to the B&B and James headed to a bar downtown for his bachelor time, and I hung out at the B&B with my amazing women. We had a great time. I hadn't seen many of them in a year (since Kyle & Christy's wedding), but it just seemed normal to be all together again. Lovely. They put me to bed with a full body massage, and played rock paper scissors to see who got to sleep in the bed with me. :)

Wedding Week

2009-09-11T16:24:00.012-06:00

Earlier today I thought, "Wedding re-caps aren't going to be so difficult. This isn't a wedding blog, so I don't have to share every little detail." But now I am realizing that I don't want to bore people, either. So I'll do a few posts, and publish them slowly, so those of you who do actually read this won't be suddenly overwhelmed with posting. :)

Today's theme is the week leading up to the wedding. It was busy, do not let me kid you, but it was also wonderful. I'm so glad we got married in Goshen (where we both went to college) because it was like coming home. Our to-do list was multi-faceted: 1) the things we had to do for the wedding, and 2) the things we had to do because we were in Goshen. List #2 included entirely too many restaurants to visit (we were forced to eat double scoops of Chief ice cream for lunch on Friday), coffee shops to go to, and people to see. We completed almost everything on both lists. Just walking around downtown Goshen made me grin. We also got to stay with Zeb & Sarah at their new apartment, which was awesome.

On Monday we did 30,000 errands, and even managed to get a marriage license (we forgot we needed cash, so we had to try twice).

Tuesday was also a lovely day. We met with our officiant, Doug, who was James' pastor at the church he attended in Goshen, to go over the ceremony. We went through all the details of the service: who stands where/where are the mics/who has the rings/who reads from where/when do we sit & stand/etc. Then, Doug asked us to tell him more about our relationship. James and I spent about an hour recounting the story of our dating life, including our first date and the craziness that was student teaching, making a documentary, and starting a new relationship. We talked about breaking up when James studied in the Dominican Republic, and how he spent 6 months in total in far away Latin American countries. We discussed the move to Denver, etc. It was so, so cool, and made everything so real. We looked at each other, grinning happily, when we left. I think we both felt that we had a deep history together that will only improve in our marriage.

Are you looking at the flowers in this picture? You should be. They are gorgeous. One of my favorite wedding-related tasks was driving up to Michigan to pick out the flowers for the wedding. We chose to buy our flowers from an organic (but not certified) farm called White Yarrow Farm. They sell produce and flowers at the Goshen Farmer's Market. It was important to me to choose flowers that were actively growing in the area at that time of year. It was so cool to go up to the farm and see our flowers growing in the ground! So many beautiful colors!

Thursday morning, James and I looked at each other and realized there wasn't a single item on our list that we could do until Friday. So we went to Goshen and hung out with friends outside the Brew. As I mentioned earlier, we didn't really feel that stressed over the week--couldn't really figure out what to stress about, and most people were shocked to see our level of calm. I guess we did a lot of organizational work before hand. We also didn't feel the need to micromanage every tiny detail. I had a lot more fun at my wedding because I didn't care too much.

As this post has gotten too wordy, I will leave Friday to it's own post. Look for one more on the ceremony, one on the reception, and possibly one on general wisdom/thoughts. Thanks for reading!

Home

2009-09-09T17:11:00.002-06:00

Reason #587 that I live in Colorado: Right now there is a pretty serious rainstorm outside with decent thunder. There is a dark cloud over the top of my house. On either side of that dark cloud, there is bright blue sky, sun, and clouds. Even a rainstorm includes sunshine!

i who have died am alive again today

2009-08-13T14:55:00.002-06:00

Why hello, blog-world! I'm just writing a quick post to let you all know that I am not, in fact, dead. Here's what I've been up to:

Number of states visited: 6

Number of miles traveled: 3643 (Yes, we need another oil change. It lasted 1 month.)

Needless to say, I have been slightly busy. I left Denver in mid-July and traveled to the following places:
Kalona, IA
West Unity, OH
Shillington, PA
Goshen, IN
Angola, IN
Omaha, NE

There was first a family reunion in PA, followed by fanatic wedding prep in OH, followed by said wedding in Goshen, IN.

And what a wedding it was! I will devote at least one real post to the wedding, but it's taking some time to process. I hate hate hate using the word 'perfect,' but our wedding was seriously just that. Yeah, it rained in the morning and my carefully prepared reception set-up didn't go just as planned and there was a broken window at the church--but it was perfect. The ceremony is vividly sewed to my mind, and I remember almost every detail. The church was filled with gorgeous singing and people, vivid flowers & paintings. My cheeks ached from smiling. I apparently hit the microphone in my eagerness to kiss my new husband. The reception was beautiful and the food was delicious--I actually ate it!

James and I were completely overwhelmed by the outpouring of love from our family and friends. A few weeks before the wedding, we sent out an email detailing how folks could help out, where to meet, and when. I wasn't really sure if anyone would show up. But oh my goodness, did people show up! We had so much help and everything came together like a dream. I was almost crying because it took approximately 30 minutes to set up the chairs in the church b/c everyone was calmly and diligently helping. The morning of the wedding I was at the cabin with Lindsy to put my bouquet together. At 8 am (!!) around 10 people showed up to move chairs and tables. TEN! And more just kept coming! During the ceremony, we stood at the front of the church for the last hymn, and it was amazing to look across the congregation and know that each person was there for me and James. Amazing.

Also, James and I were both pretty much eerily calm the entire weekend. We got to Goshen on Monday, and got a TON of stuff done. By Wednesday, we had 3 hours to sit around at the library and veg out. On Thursday morning, we looked at each other and could not think of a single thing we HAD to do. So we went to Goshen and sat outside the Brew with friends, just hanging out, laughing and talking. Periodically someone would say, "You're just sitting here. You're so calm. This is amazing!" And it was amazing. Every person we met said, "You seem pretty calm for getting married on Saturday." And then James and I would look at each other and think, "Is there something we're missing? Is there something we should be stressing about?"

We never thought of anything.

I'm not trying to say "We were perfect blah blah no stress blah." But we did not feel the need to take control of everything. Vendors stared at me when I said, "I don't really care. Do what you think would be best." 'I don't care' became my mantra the week before the wedding. Oh, the tent's not in the spot we wanted, but I don't care. It's raining on the morning of my wedding-where's the umbrella? Otherwise, I don't care. Apparently this is crazy wedding talk. Apparently I was supposed to be stressed out and focused on every teensy, bitsy detail. Earlier in the wedding planning, I was afraid I would be stressed about everything. But I wasn't. To any future brides who might possibly be reading this, know that there is hope.

The wedding was beautiful. Now real life is beginning. James and I were pretty grumpy while driving back to Denver. But literally, we drove into Denver and started to smile. And we have been crazy happy ever since. Denver is home. We're working on making our apartment look like a home as well.

Now I have officially written enough. I'm off to look for books and DVDs at the library. More wedding posts soon, I hope!

Love List

2009-07-07T19:09:00.004-06:00

Here are some things that I currently love:

1. Dr. Bronner's* Magic Castile soap in Rose. I am not the kind of girl that enjoys smelling like flowers, but the fragrance of this rose soap is so clean (no other way to describe it) that I love it more than any other Dr. Bronner's scent. It really makes my morning shower significantly better. (not to mention that it's completely natural and biodegradable. and not full of scary 10 syllable chemicals.)

2. Tom's of Maine** Original Care deodorant in Calendula. I am a known sweater. I can't be shy about it because it is apparent, and I had decided to just deal with it. But, I'm slowly working on weaning myself off of conventional beauty products full of harmful ingredients (to bodies and the world), so I gave this deodorant a try, with very little hope of success, with it not being an anti-perspirant as well. But it works like a dream, and I'm sweating less than ever. My theory is that my poor little pores can actually breathe, so they aren't retaliating by over-sweating. All you sweaters, give this a try!

3. The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon. I admit. I haven't read the book he's famous for (The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay) because there is a wait list that I have not become part of. But the Athmar library often has other books by newish authors, so I picked this one up. And I love it. I know so little about Jewish culture, and this is a sort-of crash course, much like Everything is Illuminated. The style is just how I like it--subtly funny, rather sarcastic, and intriguing.

4. Making progress. Seems like the wedding is really starting to come together, and for that I am grateful. Of course, approximately 22 thousand tasks remain and James and I still have to work and all that, but it will come together. I know eventually I will start to panic, but so far I feel good about steadily moving along. Also, I never in a million years could have done this by myself. How does the traditional bride do it? If I didn't have someone else willing to share the workload, we'd never have come this far. So I give thanks for grooms who are willing to do more than just show up. :)

That's it for me. I'm off to pack a few boxes to get them ready for the new house!

*I am in no way a spokesperson for Dr. B. Just read the labels on the bottle and you'll understand why I make this disclaimer.

**Same as above. I couldn't possibly promote such a silly company name for a living.

Lushious Lunch

2009-06-30T12:29:00.002-06:00

Sometimes food is so delicious I just have to share. Also, I'd like to take the opportunity to thank both Kate and Erin and our beautiful garden for allowing me to make such a beautiful lunch with ease.

Here's what I consumed today while typing up fact sheets about ticks, mites, and scorpions:

My favorite sandwich: mayo, fresh garden lettuce, sharp cheddar cheese, wheat bread. It sounds almost too simple, but is completely delicious. You can make it with grocery store lettuce but it just won't taste quite as good.

Asian cabbage slaw left over from the dinner I made last night: shredded purple cabbage, grated carrot, diced green onion, chopped cilantro, and toasted, slivered almonds. The dressing is mayo, soy sauce, cider vinegar, sugar, ground ginger, and hot sauce. Yum.

Grapes for dessert.

There's something about fresh flavors that made this lunch totally blow my mind.

Dubious day off thoughts

2009-06-19T21:07:00.002-06:00

Way to go, today. Thanks for totally redeeming yourself.

I awoke this morning, thinking it would be an innocent day off from work, a brief respite from small children, invertebrates, and late arrivals. Alas, I started my day on hold with the Apple Store. Never try to resolve your credit card issue on the day the new iPhone is available for purchase, kiddos. Unfortunately, the crisis was once more, unresolved. I hung up, only to have my phone ring again--call from work. No problem, just getting information about tomorrow's work site. I construct a breakfast burrito from the fixings my lovely housemate has created: potatoes and onions, highly seasoned and peppered, a sunny side up egg, fresh cilantro (home grown), tomatoes, and cheese. The phone rings before I take a single bite. My credit card company, with a helpful resolution to the Apple madness (still haven't resolved my order b/c I was unwilling to spend another hour of my day on hold--perhaps tomorrow my new computer will begin to make its way towards my residence). I eat, field another phone call, and finally get in the shower.

I didn't have high hopes for the day, honestly. I felt stressed already. But, my friends, it didn't rain all day today, and we weren't under a tornado watch. A friend from the Western Slope arrived, and we made wine/spirits deliveries, ate a delicious lunch from Mr. Lucky's Sandwiches in Cheesman Park, lounging in the mid-day sun. Capped off by iced mochas with a beautiful friend and an afternoon of book reading in a cool, dark room, I felt much more alive.

The evening only has improved the situation. Homemade pizza with amazing toppings and toothsome crust. Lovely salad greens I picked fresh from the garden just minutes before. Home brewed Belgian wit. Apple cake with ice cream for dessert. Excellent company around the table. I finished my book, and am now geared up for a morning of work.

Thanks again, today. We'll see what tomorrow holds for me.

Check check and check.

2009-06-05T18:38:00.002-06:00

Shoes? check.

Jewelry? check.

Dress fitting #1? check.

I promise, someday I will be able to talk about something other than weddings. But I went to my dress fitting today and it was really fun. My dress is lovely. It's going to fit me really well, and is still comfortable (other than being made from a warm fabric). Yay!

I have fully entered the "good enough" phase. I ordered two pairs of earrings from Ten Thousand Villages, and took them to my dress fitting today. One pair looked just ok. The other pair looked pretty good. And those are officially the earrings. Because I am no longer interested in looking at all the choices out there, I just want to be done and to cross the next item off the list. It feels really freeing, because I am able to be decisive. Everything moves us one step closer to actually getting married!

My whirlwind weekend is only beginning: tonight, we'll work on our wedding ceremony & pack for our trip to KS. Tomorrow AM we'll drive to Kansas, have a pre-wedding BBQ with friends, and camp with friends. Then on Sunday, Emily & Andy get married, and as soon as the ceremony ends, James and I drive back to Denver. Bright and early at 8 am on Monday morning, I teach my first summer camp. Wish me luck!

Classic Over-Thinker

2009-05-25T21:19:00.004-06:00

Classic Over-Thinker should be stamped permanently on my resume' and any business cards I happen to procure in the future. And I can over-think about basically anything: will my teaching license renewal be submitted before the expiration date? Will my acne choose to flare up for the wedding? Will Target let us return some glasses without a receipt?

Currently, wedding shoes are the bane of my existence. I wish I already owned a fabulous, comfortable, and colorful pair of shoes, b/c really, if I had something suitable I wouldn't look for something new. I love shoe shopping and shoes in theory. Then I go to an actual store and put some shoes on my feet, and my rather short and quite wide feet do not fit. I have to have a conversation with my brain about how I cannot will them to fit me every time I try on a new item of footwear.

I acknowledge that I'm over-thinking this. As soon as I settle on some wedges with height, I think that I won't be comfortable. But most often comfort = expensive. And I find that the majority of my current comfortable shoe needs are met (aka investing in a new pair of worthy shoes doesn't make a lot of sense right now). So what to do? I am officially tired of looking for shoes, and every time I do look, the sensible part of my brain announces that I am over-thinking a tiny decision and that the whole thing is ridiculous because my dress is ankle-length. But is it so wrong to want something colorful peering out of that dress? And to feel a little tall and confident?

See? Classic over-thinking behavior, as I have now devoted an entire blog entry to my plight. Basically, I need to stop thinking about it and just purchase a pair of shoes. Or reassess and see if in fact, I can use something I currently own. I pride myself on staying away from wedding porn and the like, but even on the alternative/DIY blogs I read, each (aka most, not all) bride has killer vintage fashion sense and excellent, full of personality footwear. These same brides search antique shops for months for vintage table linens and full sets of unmatched plates in the same color scheme. Sometimes these brides inspire me, but when I start to over-think, I feel inadequate. But that's just not my style. I'm a good enough kind of person. Are the invites cut relatively straight? Will the post office be able to decipher my handwriting? If both of the above are true, good enough. Don't get me wrong, I take pride in my work. It's not shoddy, just not absolutely the awesomest ever. Currently, I have visions of indie brides with delicious, amazing shoes. And suddenly I need them too.

Except I don't. Which I will eventually remember and find something that fits at least one of my many criteria (relatively comfortable, if not flats, something that doesn't sink into grass, colorful, will wear again) and feel good enough about it.

Until then, the over-thinking continues.

P.S. James and I really did complete the invitations from start to finish this weekend. It wasn't even terribly time-consuming, and was actually kind of fun. We're now hand-addressing envelopes, and will mail them off into the wilds shortly!

Wedding Not-Wednesday

2009-05-12T16:40:00.002-06:00

I haven't talked about the wedding in a little while, but today, I just had to share. When I checked my email this morning, right there in between the Snapfish photo offers and the Barnes and Noble coupon was a little email that made my heart leap.

Rings are done! is what it said. We're having our rings made by a local artist in Goshen, and she finished them over the weekend! All we need to do is send the remainder of our bill, and the rings are ours! These little concrete (or white gold in this case) bits of our upcoming marriage are what get me really excited. It's really happening! And we're going to have beautiful rings, which I can't wait to see!

Really Good Things List

2009-05-10T14:43:00.003-06:00

1) Yesterday Erin and Kate made an Italian feast in honor of spring. Words cannot describe exactly how delicious the meal was. To top it all off, we played a rousing round of Quiddler with our guests. I love that game!

2) Last week, I taught an exceptionally awesome group of 40 3rd grade students. I left the class feeling energized and excited about my job.

3) This Friday, that same group of 3rd graders came to the BP for their class field trip. They were all lined up outside waiting for their class to begin, and as I approached, I heard them all yell, "EMILY!" I then received about 30 hugs in approximately 2 minutes. Kids rock.

4) Earl Grey tea. Enough said.

Only in the past

2009-04-19T21:11:00.006-06:00

Recently, I find myself starting many a sentence with the phrase "Do you remember when..."

Apparently spring makes me wistful and reminisce-ful. James and I have been telling our stories to each other recently, remembering the first time we said I love you, or the goodbyes and hellos from his trips in our first year of dating. It's kind of fun to remember those times, to cringe at the awkward/terrible moments, and to feel really good about where we are now.

I've also been reminiscing about college experiences--times when I got new nicknames, times when ordering ordinary breakfast food at Waffle House became embarrassing, etc.

I'm a 24 year old already living in the past. For now, I'll just chalk it up to the weather (which was gloriously sunny today, to make up for the snow. And our lawn is green! Yay!)

What to make for dinner?

2009-04-15T19:59:00.004-06:00

It's my job to make dinner just once a week--on Wednesdays. You'd be disappointed (I know I am) at the number of Wednesdays that I just make something I've made 10 or 20 times before, and how rarely I break out of my shell. But today I was inspired!

On the menu:

Sweet Potato Quesadillas

Mexican Quinoa

Really Good Zucchini

Sweet Potato Quesadillas: modified from the cookbook Simply in Season

1 1/2 c onion, minced

Saute' in large frying pan in 1 T oil until translucent

4 c sweet potatoes, peeled and shredded

3 cloves garlic, minced

Add, and saute' until potatoes begin to soften. Add water and stir often to prevent sticking.

2 t dried oregano

1 1/2 t each: dried basil, chili powder, and ground cumin

1 t ground coriander

diced roasted green chilis, to taste

salt and pepper to taste

Add after several minutes of cooking the potatoes. Continue sauteing until potatoes are soft.

8 tortillas

1 c sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

Spread about 1/2 c of filling (just eyeball it) and a generous amount of cheese on half of each tortillas, leaving a 1/2 inch border on the sides. Fold tortilla in half. Place on oiled baking sheets. Bake in preheated oven at 400 degrees F until brown, 15-20 minutes (about 10 minutes in the mile high city). Serve with salsa, and sour cream if you have it.

This recipe is super easy and easy to increase the amounts--just add more potatoes and adjust the spices.

Mexican Quinoa: modified from an online recipe site I can't remember

1 can diced tomatoes with green chiles, drained with juice reserved (I used plain diced tomatoes and added some diced roasted green chiles from our freezer)

water

1 c quinoa

salt and pepper, to taste

1 t chili powder

1 t cumin

(I'd increase the amount of spices if I made it again)

1. Place the reserved tomato juice in a liquid measuring cup. Add enough water to bring the total amount of liquid to 2 cups.

2. Put the water/tomato juice into a medium saucepan and bring to a boil.

3. Stir in the quinoa and salt and pepper. Turn burner down, and simmer quinoa for about 15 minutes, or until the liquid has cooked off.

4. Add the tomatoes and chiles and spices. Cook for another 2-4 minutes until warmed.

This recipe claims to serve 8, but those must be very small servings! I'd triple it if I made it again, it didn't quite stand up to 5 hungry housemates.

Really Good Zucchini: a recipe given to me by Alana

2 c zucchini, shredded

2 T butter

1 t sugar

1/4 t salt

Place all ingredients in a small-medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook until warm, about 5-10 minutes.

I'm not lying, this is one of the best ways to eat zucchini! And super easy. It's the best with small, young zucchini. The baseball bat zukes in the garden in August are more suited for zucchini bread/cake than this recipe.

Some things

2009-04-13T17:08:00.003-06:00

Yes, I've been MIA for awhile now. Turns out that spring is a very busy time in my life. Work is busy. We've had lots of visitors, which makes life at home busy. And then there's this thing called a wedding that's now 4 months away (a little less than that, but I refuse to be an obsessive counter.)

So, a short list:

1. I tried on my wedding dress today! It is not ridiculously large, as I expected. It is definitely too large, but it's too large in places that are easy to fix. However, I forgot how low it was in the back! I don't think it's obscene, but it is pretty low.

2. While I was there (for about 8 minutes...b/c I really just came to try it on), the woman helping me asked what I was doing with my hair. She then clipped a really cute ostrich feather decorative thing into my hair, and told me it was "only $100." Yeah, my dress cost just a little more than that. All I could think was, yeah, this looks cute. But I could make it for much, much less.

3. I taught 180 3 and 4 year olds today about spiders. What an interesting crowd. But almost all of them held Rosie the tarantula.

4. It is sunny today, which sort of makes up for the dismal Easter morning yesterday.

5. Only 4 sessions of my after school program remain. It feels like February (when we started) was just yesterday.

6. Sign of spring: plant/garden/nursery stores are now open when I drive past them!

best.job.ever.

2009-03-20T17:09:00.002-06:00

me: "Does anyone have any questions about the Madagascar Hissing Cockroach?"

1st grader: "Cute!"

me: "Oh, you think it's cute? That's awesome!"

[later]

me: "So when you go into the Butterfly Pavilion, you can hold Rosie the tarantula."

same 1st grader: "When I hold Rosie, I think she's going to look cute AND handsome."

...I love my job.

Good/Bad

2009-03-16T15:57:00.002-06:00

Good day: 110 thank you notes from the sale section at Target!

Bad day: Speeding ticket in a school zone.

Good day: Light rail ride in the sun to Tattered Cover for pleasure reading!

Bad day: Getting pulled over and not really knowing it, b/c a policeman on foot beckoned you over to the side of the road. (There were two other cars in my similar plight.)

Good day: Sunshine and a day off!

Don't you love the paradox?

Oh, Saturday...

2009-02-28T10:38:00.004-07:00

Things have been a little busy around these parts recently. This is why today, instead of being at young adult snow camp at RMMC, I am here in sunny but chilly Denver, in my pajamas at nearly 11 am. I love a good mental health day, and I sure required one after the past few weeks. So far, I have slept in, read in bed with the sun streaming in the windows, and eaten a glorious breakfast. You see, last night I made mention that I had a hankering for donuts for breakfast. When I came into the living room this morning, I spotted a tell-tale brown paper bag with grease stains on the outside. My favorite fiance got up before me and walked to the panaderia for fresh mexican donuts this morning. My contribution was espresso made in the stove top espresso pot--dominican style with LOTS of sugar. What a great way to start the day...

Busy, you ask? How busy? Well, this past week, my middle school after school program began. I now spend two afternoons a week teaching a room full of unruly but fun 6th-8th graders about bugs and spiders and adaptations and all that jazz. I also started teaching on-site classes. In my non-work life, I planned worship for the second week in a row, and my brother came to visit. Everything was awesome and fun, but it meant that there wasn't any time for me.

And this week? Yesterday I taught a class to a group of preschoolers....who also spoke no English. I think I rose to the challenge, and was able to teach a lot of the class in spanish, and to rely on my translators as little as possible. I don't know how much the kids got out of it, but I think they know spiders have 8 legs and insects have 6, which is pretty good, as far as I'm concerned. My second class that day was a group of kindergartners whose school I had visited earlier this month for outreach. Often when I do outreach, I wonder what the kids have learned when I leave. But at the end of our class at the BP yesterday, one little girl raised her hand and told me that she remembered me from my visit to her school, and that I had brought Rosie (the tarantula) and a black spider with a red stop sign on its back that you shouldn't ever touch (black widow). I grinned from ear to ear, so glad that I'd made an impression. I got some hugs after that class.

Also yesterday, I spent several hours in rehearsal with the CO Chamber Players, working on our Insect Fables event for next week. Yours truly will get to narrate 6 fables with insects/spiders in them, while the chamber players provide the music (original scores written by folks in the group), and large groups of school kids get to learn about music and science at the same time. I'm pretty pumped.

So I've been a little busy. Today's day of indulgence (which will hopefully include such pleasures as getting new books to read from the library and shopping at Goodwill) is well deserved, and I plan on relishing it.

How to tell if you might be distracted...

2009-02-07T13:10:00.002-07:00

As I added detergent to my second load of laundry, I realized that the first load, now nicely folded and presumably "clean", was actually washed without soap of any kind.

The housemates and I decided that the soap residue that must be in the washer, coupled with the high heat of the dryer made my clothes clean, even if I washed them without laundry soap.

I decided that I need to focus on the task at hand, instead of thinking about all the other things going on in my life.

On premarital counseling

2009-01-28T17:30:00.003-07:00

James and I had our first (of three) session of premarital counseling today. We're getting married in Goshen, by James' pastor in college, but we're not actually going to be in IN again until August, so we're doing our counseling with Vern, one of the pastors at FMC here in Denver. Initially, I was apprehensive. When we met with him, he told us that he uses a family systems model for premarital counseling, which involves each of us laying out our family tree for Vern, and then basing our discussion topics out of information from our family tree. I was expecting that we'd meet several times and talk about subjects like having kids, finances, communication, etc, and wasn't really sure what to expect from the model he proposed.

I went first (we'll devote a session to each of us, and then do a wrap up session), which meant that I did most of the talking. After getting the basics down, Vern asked open ended questions that got me talking about how divorce and conflict (and other topics) is handled in my mom's and dad's families, and how that has impacted my nuclear family's life and my relationship with James. I think this is going to be a useful tool and a good vehicle for discussing those topics above that I was concerned about covering.

I want to also talk about my general thoughts about premarital counseling. I believe that almost every Mennonite church (at least all of the ones I'm affiliated with) requires premarital counseling in order for a couple to get married at their church. I fully support this decision. I think it's important to begin a pattern of a) talking about things and b) talking to others outside the relationship. I had a spiritual director for several years in college who was incredibly helpful to me. When I was doubting things about my relationships with others, when I was wondering if my cynical thoughts about religion were unhealthy, etc, I had a safe space to discuss those questions and issues with a person who was trained to work with me. Having had a spiritual director, I really value conversation with mentors who have been through similar struggles. When I have a really big problem, it's natural for me to find help from another person outside the issue. Now that I'm getting married, I have a safe space to talk about this relationship, and find ways to strengthen our communication patterns. I have hopes that participating in premarital counseling will increase James' and my readiness to find support outside our relationship when we need it. I want it to be natural and possible for us to continue consulting with those more experienced than us.

All this to say that I value conversation, collaboration, and thoughtful guidance from those more experienced than I. Signing off for now....

Wedding Wednesday: a surprise

2009-01-21T19:07:00.004-07:00

I think I'll make this a semi-regular feature. This is something I've never tried before.

On Monday I finally got in touch with the man who I'd wanted to do the flowers for our wedding. I've been super confident about this whole finding people to do things for the wedding thing, since I'm getting married in northern Indiana, not really an area of must-have venues or a destination wedding location. So I didn't really think there'd be many events or other weddings to contend with. Well my friends, I thought wrong. Gail (the flower man) informed me that our wedding happens to be taking place during Quilt Auction Weekend (QAW for short) at the EssenHaus in Middlebury. Since he also works for the EssenHaus, he will be unable to do any flowers for us. Only in northern IN would my florist be previously occupied with a quilt auction. Oh well. Life goes on.

Terrific Tuesday

2009-01-20T17:27:00.003-07:00

aka I'm proud to say I'm from the United States today, and I'd like to thank Barack Obama for making this announcement possible.

I don't really have anything else to say. I'm in awe of the celebratory tone of the inauguration today, and how inspired I was by Obama's speech. I loved that it was both thoughtful and realistic. There is work to be done, yes, and I sure am glad Obama's going to be the one to make changes. Let's beat some tanks into tractors, people.

Wedding Wednesday (a belated posting)

2009-01-15T15:31:00.003-07:00

So far, I've been keeping my blog wedding planning free, a semi-conscious decision and partly just because I don't really want to think about it more than I already do. However, I do read a lot of wedding blogs, a pretty easy way to while away a day/week-off afternoon. You're probably not surprised, but I tend to read blogs that involve the word DIY, budget, simple, practical, or other such thrifty Mennonite words in their description or blog title. For the most part, these blogs are full of practical advice and interesting ideas. But I'm starting to realize that by trying my best to avoid the whole stereotypical wedding industry, I've fallen into another trap: the DIY/personal touch trap, in which I find myself thinking that I need to find a source of vintage vases or antique typewriter keys or some other cute thing with which to decorate. Don't get me wrong, these blogs are awesome, and I'm so glad to find this whole community of people who think weddings should be about showing who you are and should be a celebration of love and commitment (aka actually about marriage), rather than being about fancy cakes and calligraphied invitations and fancy ball rooms with enormous flower arrangements. This is refreshing to me.

I think what I've been most puzzled about while trolling the internet for wedding advice is this: make your wedding personal. I feel like this is a no brainer, and I'm not really sure how to have any other kind of event. So here are some ways that our wedding is personal:

I don't really wear much jewelry, other than earrings. So when looking for an engagement ring (which we did together), I wanted something that cost very little (in case I lost it) and was something I wouldn't mind seeing every day. So, my ring was a $20 bargain we found at a crazy store in Goshen.
My college roommate-for-life of a best friend is painting some beautiful paintings to hang in the church for the ceremony (and then we get to hang that art up in our house!)
A friend from my church in Goshen, a local artist, is going to make our wedding rings.
The co-op, much beloved by me before and after working there for a year, is going to cater the majority of the reception, using organic ingredients and local produce.
The Soda Shop, where James worked as a grill cook this past summer, will be providing our dessert, awesome homemade pies for all.
Our reception is at Goshen's college cabin. We both spent a lot of time together walking on the Mill Race, so it's special, plus, we love the idea of making it more of a reunion-type feel, with croquet & other games available.

We're using local businesses, food, and artists, which are all very important to me, as well as highlighting places and people that are important to us. I care a lot more about these choices than I care about elaborately styling the buffet tables myself with colored vintage linens & potted plants. The DIY wedding world sort of leads me to believe that since I'm doing things the homemade way, I need to make sure they look really, really classy. I like things to look nice, don't get me wrong, but I just can't keep enough space in my brain to worry about hanging the seating assignment cards on a tiny clothesline made with yarn from my grandmother's wedding shrug.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

2009-01-10T16:34:00.005-07:00

Oh, David Bowie, you warm my heart. When I went to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (in Cleveland, OH of all places), I saw a display of costumes from afar. One of them was a jumpsuit with metal wings attached. I instantly knew it was once David Bowie's. And oh, was I ever right. It's that kind of crazy predictability that makes him so awesome.

But about the changes in my life...

I took out my eyebrow ring this week. I recall a conversation I had with a lovely. grandmotherly co-op volunteer, in which she asked if I thought I needed my eyebrow ring to feel beautiful. The answer, of course, was and still is no, but I don't think I understood how much it had become part of my identity. Last year I was the cool sub with eyebrow ring (that is, until I made students do their actual, assigned work--HORRORS!). This year, my employers remarked on how well it suited me. My fiance has an eyebrow ring. I liked how it looked on me. But now, all of that is gone. I had it for 2 years, meaning that it was starting to grow out and wasn't looking very nice anymore. I had to set a date to take it out or I'd never have done it. However, I still wash and dry my face carefully to avoid snagging my now-phantom pierced eyebrow.

My new job starts Jan 20. I think it's a pretty good sign that I love my job when I leave scheduling meetings and employee trainings thinking, "Man, I'm so excited! I LOVE the Butterfly Pavilion!" Yes, I am a science nerd, and proud of it. But remember, I'm the cool teacher with the eyebrow ring! (Oh wait...) Also, another sign (in my opinion) that you have a good job is that an average day for you involves dressing up like a butterfly in front of 50 2nd graders and handling caterpillars and dead butterflies. But maybe that's just me...

Mad Dash

2009-01-05T15:47:00.002-07:00

Once upon a time, two young travelers embarked on a journey. Destination: The Midwest. Goal: attend multiple Christmases, stuff themselves with food, and visit family & friends, all without exceeding the amount of carry-on baggage the airlines allow.

Wednesday, Dec. 24: Soup & Pillsbury flaky layers biscuits for dinner. FMC christmas eve service. candle-lighting at home.

Thursday, Dec. 25: We began the day bright and early at 1 am. We encountered no problems getting to the airport, arriving before shuttles or ticket counters opened. Oops. Upon arrival in Chicago, I became incredibly disoriented because there were no mountains to the west. Reunited with my parents and brother.

Friday, Dec. 26: Christmas with my family. Enjoyed a delicious brunch. In the evening, we celebrated Festivus with my Quincy friends. I received a long list of grievances, but also excelled at the feats of strength, and consumed a lot of chocolate fondue.

Saturday, Dec. 27: Christmas with my Nyce family. All but one of our family members were able to attend. I got to see my two favorite cousinlets Caroline and Roman. James learned how to play our family's brand of dominoes (it's really similar to euchre, and was invented by my great-grandpa's brothers because playing cards, as we all know, are sinful.)--he's on his way to being a pro. James and I also received a crash course in driving my brother's stick-shift car that evening.

Sunday, Dec. 28: My attendance at church was overshadowed by 3 engagement announcements. After catching up with many after church, Jonathan, James, and I set off for PA. 1 smashed finger, 7 clementines, and 2 pot roast sandwiches later, we arrived at James' parents house. Naturally, we played Quiddler.

Monday, Dec. 29: Alana and Travis came to visit us! After hours of chatting, had dinner as a family (Drew and Justine came to visit!) and exchanged Christmas presents. Everyone present got a new game for Christmas, which meant we had to try one out afterwards (Alhambra).

Tuesday, Dec. 30: We all learn a new game, Thurn & Taxis, and Team James and Emily trounce everyone soundly. We take a long walk as a family, have an amazing enormous dinner, and round out the evening with more games.

Wednesday, Dec. 31: We visit Good's Used Appliance and find almost the entire crew there, including Baby Abby, who finds broken copiers a lot more interesting than baby toys. More games, and I finish The Shack, a book I started two days previous. At midnight, you'd have found us in James' bedroom at the top of the house, watching the lighting of the pagoda on the mountain side and fireworks.

Thursday, Jan. 1: We awake early, at 5 am, in order to drive to the Philly airport. James' dad makes us sprout and peanut butter sandwiches for the trip, which we end up eating at 10 am because we've been awake for so many hours. No one looks strangely at these sandwiches. Uneventful flight back to Denver, and our beloved mountains are back!

So that pretty much sums up our trip. Incredibly short, but impressively filled with visiting friends and family. It's great to be back in Denver!

5 Things

2008-12-15T15:27:00.002-07:00

1. I have a new job. I received word on Friday that I'd been hired as the Butterfly Pavilion's spring educator; teaching classes for school groups that visit the BP on field trips. This means that I get to work full-time for one employer doing a job that I love.

2. On Friday I got two Christmas packages in the mail, heard about this job, and had an honestly good time wedding dress shopping.

3. It is oh so cold in Denver. Single digit temperatures aren't something we've experienced yet this winter, but they seem to be here to stay for the week. It's amazing how easily you acclimate to weather patterns. At this time last year I'm sure there had already been more single digit days in Goshen than I wanted to count.

4. I think my awesome Friday happened in order to prepare me for Monday. On the way to an outreach program this morning, I managed to skid on a slick patch of road and drive into a concrete lane divider. I'm fine, and the two spiders, pair of hissing cockroaches, and stick insect who were my passengers are also fine. The car is going to need some body work, and I had to take it to a garage I know nothing about. Sigh.

5. I get to go home and see family in 10 days from today! (I decided I had better end this post on a positive note. :)

Inspiration

2008-12-10T16:54:00.003-07:00

I work three days a week in Denver's Golden Triangle neighborhood for an entrepreneur who opened a sandwich/salad/smoothie cafe' a few months ago. Right across the street from us is a coffee shop owned by another entrepreneur. I hadn't really thought about this small pocket of locally owned establishments, but one day last week really solidified to me the whole reason behind supporting local business.

12:45 pm--B, one of our regular customers who owns FashionDenver, another local business nearby, stopped by for a sandwich and discovered a Frenchman was in the store, and began speaking fluently in French with him. After he left, she and I had a conversation about loving language, the desire/need to practice every day, and even spoke a little Spanish together.

1:13 pm--J, another regular customer, shared his current woes with women, saying he still loved all women. He looked right at me and said, I love you (I was representing all women, apparently). Did I mention that he is incredibly attractive?

2:05 pm--M, the baker of our bread came in to chat with my boss. They had a long conversation about the importance of loving the work that you do, and the need for small local businesses such as theirs to stick together and to support each other. Listening to this inspiring conversation, I was filled with an overwhelming love for supporting local businesses, the cozy feeling you get walking into a specific small place, rather than a local chain of a huge company. I loved listening to their strategies for increasing their customer base while staying true to their principles.

2:30 pm--Freezing, I ran across the street for a latte. Metropolis makes the best lattes I've ever had, with the creamiest thickest foam with lovely swirls of chocolate brown espresso in the pearly foam. The barista working refused to let me pay for my latte. In return, I ran a cup of hot vegetable soup back across the street to her a bit later.

All these interweaving relationships, and the desire and ability to do favors for people who work/live nearby are amazing aspects of local businesses. I've met some interesting regular customers and entrepreneurs, and I am going to continue to love and support my local businesses. Here's to unique and comfortable places of business that are owned by locals. Cheers.

Monday Musings

2008-11-24T17:27:00.004-07:00

Dear Google Maps,
If you'd like me to turn left at a specific road, please give me the name of that road. And, if it's not too much trouble, could you possibly provide the name on the road sign at the intersection where I'll need to turn? It sure was helpful to know what the street would be called in 300 feet, but, you see, I couldn't see that sign. So thanks.

Yes, one of the biggest frustrations with my Butterfly Pavilion job is the driving. I don't mind actually doing the driving, I just get a little upset when yet again Google sends me off into the world, confidently wielding directions....that don't quite provide enough information to get me where I need to go. Today I drove past my turn twice, solely because it was not labeled Indiana Ave, as it should have been, but rather, Colorado Mills something or other. Sigh. So I was late to my program. Luckily, the secretary was extra patient with my two phone calls for directions and the teacher was not stressed by my lateness. And the kids were awesome, smart and funny and excited.

Dear self, please check to make sure you have all your belongings before leaving a school. If you fail at this step, you'll leave your favorite sweater behind. I promise.

Yes, my favorite cardigan sweater, that Kimberly gave to me, that her parents got at the thrift store they manage...left at the school I almost didn't find. Sigh.

It's clearly Monday. Here's hoping the rest of my short week goes better than this.

6th grade student, after eating a chocolate-covered cricket: "Is it weird for your stomach to be upset?"
Me: "I think it's normal to feel a little weird after eating a bug. I would feel the same way, my brain would tell me that I didn't feel well."
*Oh, they're so cute!

Public service announcement

2008-11-18T19:50:00.003-07:00

Read this before you say we shouldn't bail out the auto industry.

He says it much better than me, but really, we had no problem bailing out the financial firms (who also made multiple, enormous mistakes), but not the Big Three auto firms? Yes, they made mistakes that they should be accountable for, but this doesn't just affect the CEOs who made those decisions. It affects the millions of people who work a factory shift each day, building cars to feed their families. Michigan's economy is already destroyed, and allowed the auto industry to fail will not help. Not only MI will be affected. In my part of Ohio, there are numerous Big Three auto factories that hold our local economies together. Many of my high school friends' parents had worked for Chrysler or Ford for life. These people will not have other options for jobs. Let's not punish the auto industry by allowing innocent workers to be laid off.

At Random

2008-11-10T12:05:00.003-07:00

What is happening today? The sun is not shining in Denver. I filled up my gas tank at $1.96 a gallon. I think the apocalypse is coming!
I love love love my job (at the Butterfly Pavilion)! It's so awesome to be doing fulfilling work that actually uses my undergraduate training. Today I gave a program for a group of K-5th graders in a childcare program run by a local public school. There was no school for students today. They were attentive and smart, knowing words like biodiversity and omnivore, loved playing the jeopardy style game I had, and asked great questions about the insects I'd brought along. All but one of them wanted to hold the tarantula. All my fears about them being hyper when they didn't have school were unnecessary. Their teacher held the tarantula. They all thanked me for coming and I left grinning. I was made for this job, I think.
Going along with waxing prolific about my adoration for my job, I had a great time at my after school program this past Friday. The kids got to build their own insects out of pipe cleaners, clay, feathers, googly eyes, and more. They loved it! They each wanted to show me their creation, and they were just so cute and enthusiastic! It's also incredible to me (coming from the world of junior high and high schoolers) that I can very easily get a room full of 7 and 8 year olds to sing a silly song with me about the parts of an insect.
You should all go read Sweet Juniper's latest post on an abandoned Detroit neighborhood. He writes so well about the problems of this now desolate, once booming urban city.
This weekend I went to a big horn sheep festival...saw a number of male big horns, but none of them were headbutting. It was still really great to see them in their natural habitat and learn more about them from the volunteers.
I've really been enjoying my new spicy rooibos tea. While it's not actually that cold here (yet), it still hits the spot on a dark evening.
That's all from me for now...I'm looking forward to the rest of my very easy, not very full of work week: 3 days at Parsley and just my after school program on Friday.

With liberty and injustice for all...

2008-10-17T15:31:00.005-06:00

Today my Butterfly Pavilion work took me to an elementary school on the outskirts of Golden, CO. When I drove up to the school (after accidentally driving into the grounds of their next door neighbor, a country club) I found many other presenters there from the Denver Zoo, the natural history museum, the bug mobile, etc. Turns out that this school hosts an annual science day. This is an awesome idea, don't get me wrong. However, as soon as I entered the building I knew I was in a place of affluence. After going into many different schools for my undergrad work, student teaching, subbing, and now the BP, I am a pretty good judge of the affluence of a school based on its appearance. This one, with large classrooms, carpeted hallways, brick exterior, large playground and string instruments in the hallways, was definitely well off. When our first group of students came into the music room, my judgement was further solidified: every kid was white, well-dressed, and very clean. The student to teacher ratio for the 3 classes I observed today was about 18 kids:1 teacher. These kids knew their stuff, too. They clearly had worked hard on the information of metamorphosis before, and definitely had support at home to help them. These kids had an impressive biological vocabulary. Did I mention that student:teacher ratio? Yeah, 18:1..the classes I student taught in an affluent rural school district in Indiana had a ratio of 30:1, just to give you an idea of why this is so amazing to me.

It is not Blog Action day, but this post is quite pertinent to that. Most urban schools could not have hosted this type of event. Without an enormous grant they would have been unable to pay for all the presenters. On top of that, they would not have the luxury of taking an entire day out from the regular schedule b/c their schools are "failing" according to the national government. These schools have to teach a strict curriculum to ensure their students have even a fighting chance of passing their standardized tests. Why must these students pass the tests? In order to move to the next grade, personally, and to make sure their school can get enough federal/state funding to continue paying everyone and keeping technology up to date. In Wednesday's debate, John McCain said something that made me so upset I yelled at the TV. He stated that some of the "worst" school districts in the country get the most funding. This is an absolute blatant lie. I'm currently doing a BP after school program at a DPS school in an area with a very high Latino population. I am there giving the program b/c they got a grant, and let me tell you, this school has not been updated in quite some time. It looks a little sad on the outside, but these kids are amazing. And yet, their school is marked "failing." A school full of bilingual and soon to be bilingual students where teachers take time to write grants for after school programs is marked failing. Without any data I can tell you this school get significantly less money from the government and tax payers each year than the school I visited in Golden today.

As I wound my way through the hallways of this elementary school today, I happened upon a classroom of students saying the pledge, hearing the line "with liberty and justice for all." After my experiences there and while reflecting on my thoughts on our country's education system, I cannot believe in that line. What I have told you about above is injustice. Each day, the wealthy students at this elementary school get more attention from their teachers and enjoy more programs and services, while students in many DPS schools use outdated textbooks and learn amongst the 25-30 other students one teacher is working diligently to serve. This makes my heart cry out. Don't fall for the lies the government tries to tell you: schools with more funding do better. Period. More money = more resources = better education. Don't believe that students from lower income families deserve less. They work just as hard and probably harder than those of us privileged enough to call ourselves middle class. Until the day comes when schools are properly funded and the national education budget becomes larger than that for defense, speak out. Learn the truth and tell the truth about education in this country. All children deserve to succeed and they deserve the best.

Bike Ride

2008-10-16T22:48:00.002-06:00

Clothing/equipment for 8:30 am bike ride: jeans. smartwool socks. tanktop. long-sleeved shirt. fleece zip up jacket. down vest. scarf. 1 pair gloves. 1 pair mittens to be worn over gloves. 1 fleece earband. 1 helmet.

As I left the house, there was frost on the grass and the raspberry bushes. As I quietly mourned the end of summer, I also enjoyed the beauty of the frost and the warmth of the morning sunshine.

Clothing/equipment for 2:45 pm bike ride: jeans. smartwool socks. tanktop. long-sleeved shirt. scarf.

Oh sunshine, how I love you. I needed an excuse to bike home on the beautiful Cherry creek bike trail, so I headed off to Vitamin Cottage for a bag of carrots. While fall colors are not so vibrant here, they are still amazing. The sun sparkling on the water of Cherry creek. The red creeping vines on the sides of the bike path. Brilliant yellow trees, some leaves edged in deep brown. The beautiful brown and yellow and green trees reflecting in the water of the S. Platte river. (As a side note, today I was 10 mins. early for work, so I walked around a 2 city block square and just noticed things. People with multiple dogs or serious briefcases. A shadow from sunshine on the ground. Veins of brown running through a bright yellow leaf as sunshine filtered through the branches.) It was glorious!

I LOVE living in this city with so many parks and well made bike trails. I love the plentiful sunshine and crisp temperatures. It's great. Sometimes, though, when I am driving through town at night and look up at the big buildings with twinkly lights I am awed and in slight disbelief that little me, in fact, lives here. It's only when I'm downtown and it's dark that this happens, really. I generally feel like I belong here, a woman from farm country, amongst the city scene. But I am awed at these giant buildings and the fact that I live in a capital city. It's an awesome feeling.

Day Off

2008-09-29T12:28:00.002-06:00

Today started out quite nicely with breakfast at a local place called Dozens. No greasy spoon this establishment(which really is my favorite kind of breakfast place), nay, this one poured delicious coffee served with cream in a tiny carafe with raw sugar to add. I breakfasted on a green chile, tomato, and cheddar omelette, served with fried potatoes (surely with a hint of sour cream added), whole wheat english muffin with apple butter on the side, and a pineapple garnish. Delish. My breakfast companion, James, provided lovely company, as we sat in front of a sunny window and drank too many refills of rich coffee. Yeah, I'm a fan.

Now I am home, hearing stories of fully-employed housemates and potentially-employed housemates. I'm now sitting in the office in our house, next to a bright sunny window, listening to the accidentally perfect playlist I discovered on the computer in here. I don't know which housemate I have to thank for this, but I sure do love discovering awesome untitled playlists on this computer. What else is on my plate for the day? Having already researched possible wedding reception sites in the Goshen area, I'll be soon headed to the library to return books, then take a trip to Target to return the worst bike lock ever (WBLE for short). Then, this evening, my fellow educator, Erin G-wals and I will head off to Educator's Night at the Denver Museum of Science and Nature. We get to watch an IMAX film on Alaska for free! And visit the museum for free! I am such a science nerd...this is incredibly exciting to me. It's a good Monday, ya'll.

Hark! The town crier speaks:

2008-09-06T16:09:00.003-06:00

Hear ye, hear ye!
Miss Emilinda is now gainfully employed!

Yes, it's true, folks. Yours truly has found gainful employment in the big bad world of Denver. I now have two part time jobs, and the details are still getting worked out as far as hours and scheduling go. I'll be working at the Butterfly Pavilion as an outreach presenter, giving talks on insects to people of all ages, preschool to sr. citizens. I'm really excited, since I really want to be an environmental educator. I'll also be working at Parsley, a little fresh sandwich/salad/juice/smoothie cafe' in the Golden Triangle neighborhood. This is also really exciting. They use organic/natural ingredients, the decor is all green inside, and the people seem really friendly.

That's all for now. It's a beautiful day, one of my last days unemployed, and I'd like to read in the hammock.

Rather than...

2008-08-25T17:59:00.003-06:00

Rather than do any actual wedding planning...I'm reading a book about the ridiculousness of the wedding industry.

Rather than do more job searching...I went to a local coffee shop with James today and just talked for over an hour.

Rather than buy any produce...I'll just eat the tomatoes, raspberries, swiss chard, and zucchini in the garden that I didn't even have to plant.

Rather than hear Obama's acceptance speech at Invesco...I'll be doing Thursday Night Grilling at my house and hopefully finding somewhere to watch his speech on TV.

Rather than becoming part of the DNC craziness...I'll be sticking to my favorite places in my neighborhood: Huston Lake park and the Athmar Park branch of the DPL.

Rather than unpack...I'll continue to keep my stuff in boxes until we find more furniture.

Rather than stress out about my current unemployed status...I'll watch season 3 of The Office on DVD.

Rather than continue this blog post...I'll think about making something for dinner.

In which I am a mile high and you are not

2008-08-19T17:18:00.002-06:00

I don't have anything profound to say, and I have only 9 minutes on this library computer to do so. I am now computer-less, bed-less, and job-less in Denver. It is a mile high. You are not.

Even though I am missing many things that make my life comfortable and livable, I am happy to be here. My house has an amazing backyard with raspberry bushes, twinkle lights, swiss chard and tomatoes in the garden, and hardwood floors. My neighborhood is full of Latino and Asian grocery stores and restaurants. I am looking for jobs and setting up house. And often, I have to remind myself that I live here now, that this is not some weird crazy vacation I signed up for.

Yesterday I was using our beautiful looks like it was ripped from the page of a home improvement magazine bathroom, and I realized that some day in the near future this will all feel normal and routine. Right now I desperately wish for a routine of some kind, but I think there is also something great about not having one. I am more aware of my surroundings and my feelings than normal, because I have nothing to do but pay attention. So, until I have a job and a routine, I will notice. That's about all I can do these days.

Me voy

2008-08-10T14:52:00.004-06:00

I don't really have much to say, just had an urge to type. It's surprising and also not so much so that I have little to say, as the past two weeks have been a whirlwind of craziness. My brain is still in the midst of such a whirlwind: I leave my house in Goshen for good on Tuesday. Already one of our dear housemates has departed onto her own adventures in AK. I attended two weddings of very good college friends in as many weekends. Just today, I spent my last Sunday at yet another home in Goshen: Assembly Mennonite. And here I am, again typing in the GC computer lab (no more internets at The Spain), which makes me feel like a college student frantically typing up a last minute assignment.

Leaving is weird. Earlier in the summer, I considered making a list of all the places and things I'd want to do just "one last time" before moving. I'm glad I didn't make such a list because I surely wouldn't be able to complete it. I've made a multitude of lists these past few days: lists of things to pack, lists of items I need to find a home for, lists of people to call, lists of moving details to take care of. None of them are finished. And most of them will remain just slightly unfinished. Then there are the lists I have kept in my head, full of items that I should have done but didn't: kept in better touch with some of my profs, had one last quality catch up conversation with Alana before she left, quit work at the co-op earlier, etc.

As I walked down the hallway in our apartment this afternoon, still talking to Kimberly in her bedroom, the hallway echoed. It never used to echo, you see, because there were posters and beautiful fabric hanging up that buffered the sound. It's the little things like a newly echoey space or the wall decorations coming down that totally shock me into realizing that life as I currently know it is over. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't trade these intense, sometimes difficult, always rewarding and beautiful living experiences with people I love dearly for anything, but the sad truth is that it becomes very painful to leave when it is time.

It's time, though. Boxes are being packed. Plans are being made for new places. I will no longer laugh with my co-op coworkers or sing the tree song and drink coffee at Assembly. I won't read at the Brew or eat at County Seat or visit with friends at the farmer's market while buying produce. I don't know what I'll be doing, really, nor what any of The Spain will be doing. But, as my father would say, "The time has come, the walrus said, to speak of many things." So off I will go, (hopefully completely) packed up by Tuesday, filling one car with the combined possessions of James and myself, to a new adventure.

Did I mention that leaving makes me melancholy?

Storytime

2008-08-05T09:28:00.003-06:00

Well, internet, I have been holding out on you. Ok, that's not true, b/c facebook has known since last Monday evening. But my faithful blog readers (all 4 of them) deserve to know the truth:

I am engaged! (this picture is proof, taken minutes after the actual event)

How did this happen? you might be asking yourself. Well, last Monday after work, I was surprised. I have yoga on Mondays, so I stay downtown, normally going to the Brew to read a book. On this particular Monday, James and I were meeting up to get wedding presents at 10 Thousand Villages for our friends who are getting married these next two weekends. After this, we walked over to the Brew. James declined to come inside with me, instead handing me a note in an envelope and biking away like a flash.

I opened the note, finding a memo proclaiming me a winner of free coffee at the Brew (in the form of a $5 bill in the memo). It then stated that I had to complete a task to get to the next step of the journey: find another note hidden for me in the Brew and follow the directions inside. I knew exactly where the note was hiding--in a drawer in a nearby table, and upon finding it, opened another envelope that contained a map of a small part of Goshen, with a red X labeled "meet me here after yoga" Unfortunately, I am a map-reading failure and definitely had to call James at this point to ask him to direct me to where I needed to go.

Then I had to go to yoga, still unsure if the actual proposal was coming, or if this was only one step of the process. Needless to say, my yoga poses were not very focused that evening. I then biked to the agreed location on the mill race, to find a picnic laid out--two glasses of wine, one chunk of free co-op cheese stolen from The Spain's refrigerator, and flower spread across a fitted bed sheet with a bunny print. Still not knowing what was going on, I remained my sarcastic and joky self until James was finally able to get serious:

J: So, we spent a lot of time together last week (@ 2 family reunions), and I thought it went really well. And I know that I want to be with you for a long time.
E: How long exactly?
J: Oh you know....for the rest of our lives! (pulls out the ring, which is still in the small plastic ziploc bag we got when we bought it) Will you....
E: Yes!
J: *rolls eyes b/c I have beat him to the question* will you....let me borrow your car tomorrow?
E: *nods head and waits impatiently*
J: Will you marry me?
E: YES!

So there you have it folks, the story in its full glory. Don't ask me about wedding dates or anything else, my brain is worried about moving to Denver right now. However, we are looking at late July/early August '09 when my brother returns from SST. The wedding will definitely be in Goshen, hopefully at Assembly. And now...back to thinking and planning this move to Denver that is happening next week.

Home again, home again, jiggity jig

2008-07-27T12:37:00.003-06:00

As my title states, I am once again a resident of The Spain. My mind is a whirlwind of shoulds--obligations, tasks to complete, things to pack, things to prepare, and all I find myself able to do is sit on the couch and read books, crippled by these last few weeks before I leave The Spain and Indiana for good.

I believe this has been formally announced here, but I am moving to Denver in August. Part of a small pilgrimage of GCers, I will take my place in the mile high city...desperately hoping to find employment and learn a new place. Before that happens, in these last two weeks of chaos, the following events must occur: two 30 hour work weeks, two weddings of very good friends, reuniting with friends who have been out of the country or out of the state all year, packing up things that aren't going to Denver and getting them home, packing for Denver, finding homes for all the furniture, etc that isn't coming along, submitting more resumes and cover letters, and you know, managing to stay sane in the midst of all this.

Ack.

That's about all I can say right now. Very soon I must jump into action, but so far this day has been relaxing (ok, except for getting lost twice). Assembly had a joint service with Buen Pastor up at Camp Friedenswald...it was really nice, good to hear a service in both Spanish and English, to fellowship at lunch, and to realize that Assembly is now my home. I have friends and mentors there, I feel challenged spiritually, but I also feel safe. Life is good. Now, remind me again why I'm leaving this support system behind?

But really, life is good if not just a bit overwhelming. And did I mention that I have about 15 pounds of delicious free cheese? I'll miss the perks of working at the co-op. And now, off to tackle my mountain of laundry.

30 second post: PA edition!

2008-07-17T21:15:00.002-06:00

My giant swollen right tonsil and I have safely made it to PA...it was quite the trip, driving in the van for 10 hours with very hot air coming out of the vents (no AC). But we are here, and very happy to be so! (Oh, we would be James and I). I slept in A/C last night, have eaten large amounts of delicious food, have been fending off my virus as best I can, met some new people, reconnected with others, played a new game (Quiddler), and have mostly enjoyed life. Tomorrow we are off to a family reunion until Sunday, when we will then travel to my beloved Jersey shore--tourists, rip tides, jelly fish, and all--until Wednesday morning. Life is good. That was more than 30 secs.

Adieu.

strawberry supposings

2008-06-10T17:54:00.004-06:00

Today was a beautiful day. Finally, a respite from the humidity came, and I awoke refreshed, not sticky like last week. After eating a ridiculously large breakfast at a local restaurant, I picked strawberries (that weren't sprayed) from a local field. I baked shortcake for dinner using locally grown and ground pastry flour, and made a salad with local lettuce, spinach, cucumber, and cilantro. It was an excellent day, and I basically radiated happiness and pleasure at dinner. I marveled over the beauty of a head of reddish romaine lettuce and the crunchiness of local cucumber. I delighted in fresh strawberries that had traveled a mere three blocks (by bike, no less). And I will admit, I took pride in my actions. To me, local eating is very important. Phil posted this earlier: Everything you know about water conservation is wrong, and it explains just one of the myriad of reasons eating local is important. Beyond the fact that eating local conserves tons of water [doesn't travel far and doesn't use fuel to transport vessels of water (aka fruit and vegetables)], local produce is fresher, tastier, and supports your local economy.

On Sunday, a female member of the congregation gave the sermon on household economics, and made mention of the "more-with-less contest" in which we often find ourselves. Living green means making certain choices, such as local eating, and it can easily turn into a contest, or yet another way of "keeping up with the Joneses." Instead of buying a new car to one-up your neighbor, you recycle more than they do, and transport it to the bins by bike. You shop solely at the co-op while your next door neighbor shops at Meijer. Living green means assigning moral value to certain lifestyle practices, she stated, so how do we avoid comparison to others? This comparing leads to self-righteousness (which I noticed in myself as I gazed into my salad bowl and mentally gave myself a gold star) or feeling like you're not doing enough. Neither is helpful. I often talk to people about my own choices: to eat less meat, to carry reusable bags, to eat local when possible, and often hear that they feel overwhelmed and stuck. By comparing yourself to others, it's easy to cripple yourself and do nothing. So I encourage you: do something small today. Refill your water bottle. Buy a local cucumber. Carry a reusable bag.

As for myself, I will work on my self-righteousness. I will work harder to not feel holier-than-thou while eating my local salad. I will turn towards gratitude for the sun and rain, soil, and people that made this local food possible. I will turn towards gratitude for my neighbors, for those who try and do small things and avoid getting stuck and for those who are stuck. And today, I will eat fresh strawberries and moan with pleasure. As my fellow Assembly-ite stated, I will say, "I have enough, I am enough, Thank You."

This is your moment of Zen

2008-06-01T18:22:00.002-06:00

"Save the planet, it's the only one with beer!"
-slogan from the shirt of a male patron at the co-op

Possibly the most anti-green movement but still promotes living eco-friendly shirt I've ever seen. Here's to you, random Maple City Market shopper...

Well, darn.

2008-05-24T18:03:00.002-06:00

So I was just about to sit down to write this blog post boasting my culinary prowess when the fire alarm went off. Why, do you ask? Because just before I left the kitchen, I put the wet cast iron skillet on the burner (turned on high, of course) to dry. Normally I am doing other kitchen tasks and then take it off and turn off the burner when it's dry. But today I wandered away, leaving the burner on and causing something underneath the burner to smoke and eventually, flame. Sigh.

Eh, I'll write the blog post anyway. James and I have decided to call it the joy of un-cooking. At the farmer's market today, I fell in love with baby white Japanese turnips with green tops still attached, 10 for $2. We brought them home, sliced them up a bit, and doused them with my very own creation: a combination of about a tablespoon of olive oil, several drizzles of balsamic vinegar, a teaspoon or so of spicy brown mustard, and hefty sprinkles of thyme and pepper, with a tiny bit of salt. We coated them and roasted them at 400 degrees until they were slightly wrinkly and tender when poked with a fork.

My other creation of the evening? Take the remainder of a can of pinto beans from the fridge. Add canned diced tomatoes with green chiles (also found in the fridge) until you are pleased with the concentration of each ingredient. Add a few sloshes of lime juice, and mix coriander and cumin in your hand until it looks like the proper amount and add. Stir, and heat in the microwave. Grate sharp chedder cheese on top. Lament the lack of tortillas in your life. Boyfriend remembers large container of leftover spaghetti. You think it's weird, but he assures you it is not. Serve bean mixture over heated spaghetti with extra grated cheese and little crumbles of tortilla chips from the bottom of the bag. A little cilantro would've been ideal, but the week's grocery shopping still hadn't been done.

After creating this masterpiece from a small conglomeration of random things, I wonder why my high school cafeteria couldn't do a more impressive job on clean out the freezer day.

Gray day thoughts

2008-05-15T15:24:00.004-06:00

I have become a dull and uninteresting blogger. I don't know when this happened...I used to think about blogging in my head, deciding on opening sentences for my posts, ending them with funny quotes that people I loved had said in the past few days, wondering how people would react to my more serious topics. But suddenly I'm just not doing it. And it shows. The amount of blogging I've done this year is significantly less than before--and I am certainly less busy than I was when I was in college. What's going on? Does life become an uninteresting blur of sameness after college? Am I just noticing and observing less? Am I stuck in a rut? I'm not sure. (Well, ok, I am here to tell you that life is not an uninteresting blur of sameness--that's just Northern Indiana.)

It's not that things aren't happening to me. Today I woke naturally without an alarm intruding on my dreams. I biked downtown when it was sunny this morning to run errands. A book I've been wanting to read for awhile (Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo) was innocently waiting on the new books shelf for me at the library. Organic strawberries, bulk walnuts, and free expired hummus awaited me at the co-op. I returned home and whipped up some killer chocolate chip and walnut banana bread in honour of my lovely housemate Kirsten's day of birth. I biked down the mill race a bit for a picnic with James under a bland, gray sky. He pointed out birds that I could not see without my glasses. We consumed an entire carton of organic strawberries, the last of a bar of quality dark chocolate, and homemade bread with smoked gouda cheese. We saw our cousins who go to Bethany walking on the millrace with their biology class--they are freshmen in high school mind you--and both acknowledged our presence, one yelling hello to James and one waving with quite large hand motions. This is big news, my friends, publicly demonstrative freshmen boys are few and hard to find. We came home and drank tea while completing crossword puzzles as housemate Kimberly groaned at our obsession, but still pitched in to complete a few clues. An afternoon of errand running turned nostalgic when I bought the children's book George and Martha at the library for 25 cents. I eagerly anticipate a homemade dinner by Alana, and The Office season finale on NBC this evening.

Earlier this week I played fashion consultant with two other women in order to clothe my clothing-challenged boyfriend in suitable clothes for wearing outside the Goshen world. I often regret that this Goshen world is not universal. Today I went out to run errands in my Merry Lea pants, a pair covered with mysterious stains gained from a worm classification/soil research project and a stream classification/identification project two May terms ago, and didn't even blink an eye. A wedding etiquette book told us (The Spain) today that it is a faux pas to spend less than $50 for a wedding gift. For all the weddings of friends that I have attended, I have split a $50 gift between several people. Goshen culture is good, but not readily accepted in all parts of our society. Thus, I own "professional" or "teacher" clothes for work that I rarely wear outside of that setting. These clothes are often a little less "me" than I would like. So I take my current opportunities to look grungy seriously.

Hm. Perhaps my problem is that I do not allow myself the time to sit down and ramble in text in the new post box. It reminds me of a chain of stream of consciousness emails that Veloris, Drew Herstam, and I sent to each other during my second year of college. Giving yourself the space and time to ramble allows you to end up with surprising things.

5 things about today (or yesterday)

2008-05-08T15:42:00.005-06:00

1. I finally saw the pictures of my poor sad little blue car (which got in an accident on a quick trip to Columbus that I was not a part of). Luckily, no one got hurt, it was the other driver's fault (and she had insurance), and did I mention that no one got hurt?

2. It is rainy. The sky is gray. But Tuesday, Tuesday was glorious. So spring really is here, it's just that these two dismally gray days have not done much for my spirits.

3. I started working on a new recipe project...aka transforming all the tiny random slips of paper with recipes tried and untried on them into a shiny new binder of easy to use-ness (decidedly not a word).

4. The Office and 30 Rock are on tonight. Yeah, Thursday night pretty much rocks my world.

5. Alana is making supper right now. She's definitely using sesame oil, which makes me happy.

6. (oops, I cheated) A group of housemates and other friends are doing a mix CD exchange in which we all made a CD and are passing it around to all members of the group. A pretty sweet way to hear some new music, if you ask me.

7. (yeah, really cheated) I think you, my dedicated readers, may now subscribe to my blog so that it will send you an email when I have posted. Quite helpful for all you busy May Termers out there (check out the right side bar to subscribe).

Hospitalidad

2008-04-20T19:03:00.003-06:00

When I came home for dinner this evening, I was pleasantly surprised to find some additional dinner guests in the kitchen. I had already invited one friend, and now two more were at the table, meaning we had to pull our table away from the wall and squeeze 8 chairs around it (basically, every chair we have in the house). We ate green bean, tomato, and mushroom egg casserole, fruit salad, and fresh homemade bread, and there was enough for everyone. I don't want to lose this casual, last minute sense of hospitality college has fostered for me. Just ran into a friend that you haven't seen in awhile? Bring them home for dinner. There will be enough places at the table and enough food for all. Don't clean, don't bother with fancy dishes (or even more than one utensil per person), it's the fellowship and the people that are important. I love that I can pretty much count on someone dropping by each evening during the week, a steady source of entertainment based on the fact that friends know it's ok (bordering on required) for them to drop by when they want to, without calling ahead. Don't get me wrong, fancy dinners are nice, and have their place, since I love to cook, but impromptu large group meals are my favorite. Just because I am coming to the end of my time of living with/near college students doesn't mean that I need to change my methods of hosting people in my home. Come for dinner. There will always be enough.

Kimberly: "Milk has fat and orange has lemon."
Matthew: "You are science."

Thursday Thoughts

2008-04-10T16:51:00.002-06:00

An older Spanish-speaking gentleman came into the co-op to buy eggs today. He handed me two dollars when I told him the price in English ($3.39), so I started talking in Spanish. He told me he'd be back with more money and left me with the eggs and the 2 bucks. Later he came back and told me he didn't have the money, I gave him his $2, and he left. And after he walked out, I thought, Why didn't I just tell him that it was ok, take his 2 dollars, give him the eggs, and then pay the remainder myself? or give him my discount?
I say that I'm for social activism, but what do I actually do? How do I actually serve people each day? And why did I only think of helping out that man after he left? Sigh.

A pretty awful day today. I never quite woke up, things seemed stressful at work. The promise of sweet coffee bliss and time with James at the Brew somehow helped me make it through. Conquering the crossword puzzle and keeping Alzheimer's at bay never hurts either. Things are feeling a little better now. I was able to deal with the strawberry juices spilled all over my messenger bag without any cursing. That's pretty impressive for a person like me. :) Here's to the weekend, and tomorrow being Friday. I will now leave you to snuggle up and read Everything is Illuminated until the new episode of The Office this evening!

Huh?

2008-04-04T15:00:00.005-06:00

If any of you know me at all, you understand that I am rarely (if ever) struck speechless. However, in certain interactions with other members of my species, no other response is possible in that moment. (Luckily, I am often able to blog about it afterwards.)

After ringing up the purchases of a middle aged male customer today in a baseball hat and a jacket with some saccharine-sweet saying about Jesus Christ, the following interaction occurred:

Customer: "You have really nice hair. You should grow it out."
Me: "Oh, actually I really like it short."
Customer: [laughs] "We'll see if your husband likes short hair."

This rendered me completely speechless. First of all, I am confident in who I am, short hair and all. I was walking on the mill race yesterday and realized I was walking tall and proud, confident about who I was. I occasionally think back to pre-college me, and realize that she would have been totally uncomfortable with the short hair, large earrings, pleated goodwill skirt over tights me, and I am so glad to be here. I am a woman, and I feel good about who I am, the unconventionally beautiful me who truly enjoys being unconventional. I'm also just not really sure what his intention was...it was sort of a compliment wrapped up in telling me to change my appearance, given to a person he didn't even know. Interesting.

Upon further reflection, I realized the number of vast assumptions he made in that one statement. First, he assumed that I am a heterosexual (because all truly "normal" people are, you see). Second, he assumed that I want to get married (oh right, don't all women my age want to get married, too?). Third, he assumed that women should have long hair (no smarmy comment to put in parenthesis, sorry). Fourth, he assumed that my future husband's opinion about my hair would trump my own. Well, I reject all of his assumptions. I am heterosexual, I do want to get married (to a man who will honour my own opinions about my appearance), but I sure don't need long hair. However, I could have easily been a happily single homosexual, which would have made his comment even more outrageous. The amazing thing is that I'm sure he thought nothing of it. The beauty of having heterosexual white male privilege is that you don't think about these things because you don't have to. Since you are the default, the privileged one, you don't realize that not everyone is like you.

So I will continue to wear my hair short, to reject wedding mania, and to be proud of the woman I am, unwilling to fall into (some) conventional norms. Thus ends my social analysis moment du jour (SAMDJ for short).

Adventures in working at a cooperative store

2008-03-27T15:14:00.002-06:00

Odd tasks I have completed in the past two days:
1) gave a customer's dog a bowl of water
2) stabbed a hole in a container of bulk dish soap (25 gallons) with a screwdriver
3) scraped out the last of a giant vat of unfiltered molasses using a large rubber spatula from the deli kitchen for a customer

The not-so odd, but pleasurable:
1) sniffing the new scented soaps
2) reading about the 14 new varieties of tea we now carry
3) taking home free expired yogurt, soymilk, cheese, cookies--YUM

Needless to say, I am really enjoying being back at the co-op. I just came back from a 12 day trip to visit Kate in England, which was a thoroughly enjoyable time. But, it is so nice to be home. As I was flying home I realized that Goshen has really become home, due to the relationships I have here. I have completely amazing and supportive housemates that I was eager to return to. I have an equally (or almost equally) amazing and supportive boyfriend. I have a great job, good community connections....I just feel this sense that I belong here and am loved and fulfilled. Things are good. However, my brain is currently crazed with jet lag, so I hope this actually makes any sense at all. I think it is nap time.

Hopeful

2008-03-07T17:21:00.002-07:00

I (now) believe in March resolutions. I am sitting here, wondering just exactly how it is March already. I'll admit, February was pretty terrible. I'm glad to see it gone. About 3 weeks ago, I felt a lot of pressure in my ears. I got really dizzy, almost threw up a couple times one night. Fast forward to now, when after 2 rounds of antibiotics and countless nasal decongestant pills, my ears are still full of excess fluid. Needless to say, February passed by in a blur of sleeping and working, punctuated by doctor's visits and grumpy moments. And don't even get me started on the weather. If there was snow on Monday, it would be completely melted (and the river flooding) by Wednesday. I was in South Carolina two weekends ago for a wedding. When someone asked me if we'd had snow in Indiana in the past week, I honestly couldn't say yes or no. It all blurs together, you see.

March has brought hope. The sun has been shining. There's still snow on the ground, but really, I am ok with snow and sun. My ears feel (a little) better. In less than a week, I will be flying to England to reunite with my good dear friend Kate, which excites me greatly. And at work today, I decided to make a March resolution or two. I would like to start sprouting (seeds, that is). Alfalfa, radish, broccoli, mung beans--I love sprouts, and I'd like to start doing it myself. I'd like to start journaling again (the blur that was February was not conducive to journaling). And I'd like to start some tomato seeds to plant in Roof House's garden this summer. March has brought hope, something that is necessary after a long February.

60 second update

2008-02-18T22:08:00.002-07:00

On Valentine's Day I got flowers from the dumpster--wilted yellow roses that brought me infinite joy.

The next day, I developed a rare case of The Spain-itis, manifesting itself in a fever that didn't exist, a cough, and negative energy.

Over the weekend I managed to make myself an egg, eat it, and wash the dishes, and also watch a movie, attend a choir concert, go to church, and henna my hair. These monumental accomplishments had to be squeezed in between numerous naps and cups of tea to fend off the disease.

I haven't updated in ages. So sorry. In other news: I am moving to Denver. I am going to England in less than a month. The sun has shown its face again. And this post took 3, not 1 minute, to create.

Lunes

2008-01-21T17:48:00.001-07:00

Wake up at 6:45 and stumble to the bathroom. Dress quickly, gather coat, hat, keys (2 sets, in case one car doesn't start due to terribly cold weather), purse. "Scarf it" (my hair, that is) as Drew Herstam would call it because a shower is out of the question. Arrive at the co-op at 7:15 am. Get ready for customers. Eat a breakfast of hardened banana nut scone (leftover from the weekend) and honeybush tea. Reload the entire produce case b/c it was cleaned over the weekend. Spend several hours with kale, blueberries, local sweet potatoes, and pinata apples. After work, head down to the Brew, just one block from work. Pop in for a hazelnut latte and a surprise visit with housemate Alana. Change into yoga attire in the bathroom, and cross the street to the yoga studio. 1.5 hours of stretching, strengthening, and relaxing in yoga class. Home to an amazing supper a la Alana: butternut squash, collard green, and portabella mushroom soup with dumpster-dived bread, followed by Andy's chocolate sheet cake for dessert. Finish that hazelnut latte, anticipating an evening of hot tubbing with The Spain and time with the boyfriend. Not a bad day after all.

Ironic

2008-01-08T13:27:00.000-07:00

This afternoon I sat in my car eating a cheesy bean and rice burrito from Taco Bell while parked in front of San Marcos. Ironic that I was sitting in front of my favorite source of burrito heaven and was stuck eating a processed TB one, no? (I believe that it is NOT a coincidence that this establishments' initials are the same as the disease tuberculosis.)

Otherwise, life is just fine, thanks. The Spain is reunited and a new member has joined. I brought home tons of free food from the co-op yesterday. Goshen is coming back to life. James is finally back in town. The Spain has a new teapot and tea cozy, courtesy of Kimberly. I received two packages in the mail yesterday--presents from my parents and Kate. I can wear Chacos outside because April is the new January. Here's to you, global warming.

A New Year Dawns

2008-01-01T12:22:00.000-07:00

It is two o'clock in the afternoon. In the two o'clock hour, I have managed to force myself out of my pj's (fleece pants are notoriously addicting) and get around to actually eating some lunch. Don't forget that I didn't manage to leave my bed until 10:45 am.

...My name is Emily, and I am a grown-up. This year has been an interesting transition from being a college student to embracing the "real world." However, I am still feeling very Peter Pan-esque. Never-Never Land is treating me quite well, thank you. 2008 is upon us now, and I am ready to see what surprises will await. I toyed with several ideas to review the events of 2007...my year in movies, in books, in months...but I have settled on the following list (I am nothing if not a meticulous list-maker):

My year 2007 in food:

fresh soft pretzels in Reading when visiting James in PA for the first time, Jan 2
pomegranate muffins and rum cake a la Lisl K and G-wals, Jan 17 (my 22nd b-day)
curly fries and grilled ham and cheese at the Leafraker, Feb 11
Thai green curry from A Thai Restaurant (the actual name of the establishment) with the Fabulous Florida Five in Ft. Lauderdale, FL for spring break, Feb 27
corned beef, cabbage, and boiled potatoes, along with a decadent chocolate hazelnut birthday cake before an awesome Switch House party in honor of Trav and Lisl's birthdays, Mar 17
red lentil coconut curry, stuffed acorn squash, Japanese stirfry and miso soup, and veggie lasagna, along with hilarious and meaningful conversation with my Swing House women, all year
pork roast, mashed potatoes, and roasted asparagus with my family for Easter dinner, Apr 8
homemade hummus with pita, my mom's amazing chocolate oatmeal bars, and cherimoya ice cream at the Swing House graduation open house, Apr 25
sandwiches of homemade bread, butter, and Ementhal cheese, followed by Swiss chocolate for dessert--a traditional lunch during my May Term class, Anabaptist Mennonite History in Europe, May 7
fish and chips washed down with a pint of Bulmer's in Co. Galway, Ireland with my traveling companion and dearest friend Kate, Jun 1
$1.10 root beer slushies with pretzel rod at the Par-t-Pak in Bryan, OH with the Quincys, Jun 14
Indian and Ethiopian food at Gabe and Bethany's wedding (the beginning of all my friends getting married/engaged), Jun 16
strawberry shortcake with my family during my summer in OH, Jun 18
homemade shoo fly pie made with Jenna Yoder during my visit to the organic farm in Michigan at which she worked, Jul 9
sour skittles and pomegranate tea during an annual catch up session with mi hermana dominicana, Jenna Bru, in a park in Ann Arbor, Jul 11
refried bean and cheese quesadillas in Jasper Nat'l Park in Alberta, Canada while camping with the family on our Canadian Rockies adventure, Jul 24
homemade waffles with yogurt and peach syrup with the Weber family (reunited with James after a long summer), Aug 10
pumpkin ice cream, cookies, and tartlets, just a taste of the spread at Roof House's 2nd Annual Fest, Fall Edition, Oct 22
cups of tea and random delicious carbohydrate-filled dishes with The Spain, my new housemates in Goshen, Nov 15
holiday cheer with The Spain and other friends, Dec 7
pancakes and canadian bacon with my family during our traditional after-presents Christmas brunch, Dec 25
chocolate fondue with the Quincys, Dec 31

Here's to you, 2008.