Dull Moments

So guys, I have a list of posts to write about! I made curtains! I did my first food crawl! Everyone's getting married! Alas. I have no time. However, I was getting questions about these, so this is what I will blog out:  vegan cupcakes. Worst-sounding combination EVER, right? I work with a group of really healthy people, one of whom is a vegan. It's her birthday... so... I made her vegan cupcakes. You can love or hate that idea, and I don't care. It's her birthday, not yours. On your birthday, I will make you steak cupcakes with veal frosting, okay? Chocolate Vegan Cupcakes Ingredients:  * 2 cups flour * 2 TBSP chia seeds (as requested by my coworker instead of flax seed, and she provided them, so I didn't aruge) * 2/3 cup cocoa powder  * 1 tsp baking powder * 1 1/2 tsp baking soda * 1 tsp salt * 2 1/2 cups Libby's canned pumpkin * 1/2 cup safflower oil * 1 1/2 cup white sugar  * 2 tsp vanilla * 2 TB...

For those of you who want to know, this is what you need to understand about my new job... I use a very specific and very interesting form of behavior change counseling known as "motivational interviewing". It involves actively listening and helping the patient embrace both their ambivalence towards change and finding their own solutions to their health problems. It's amazing. It's like cheating.  I sit and listen, they solve their own problems, they embrace change. Granted, it's not that easy, but the technique is astoundingly simple and effective.  It's also very effective on your husband the guy who lives with you, until they figure out what you are doing and tell you that you aren't allowed to MI at home. However, MI is sneaky and effective, so I am secretly still doing it :). I do one and one counseling, support groups, group exercise, follow-up constantly with each patient, and a bunch of random administrative stuff.  That's what my day to ...

So, we've been really busy around here! Not in the we-have-had-so-much-going-on way, but in the changes/little things way. Our friend who has moved in with us for the time being is the world's best cook. For real. Unfortunately, I am also a good cook... and so some times, we just sit around and cook .  I say unfortunately, because I am going to get very fat. This weekend, we made double thick lemon bars... Baked churros.... Strawberry ice cream... And our normal array of pizza, salads, soups, etc. Results? The double thick lemon bars, based on my recipe, were a huge success. Friend really loved the bars, but asked if I'd be willing to double up the lemon custard ad see how it worked. I never turn down a baking challenge... Again, a huge success. Baked churros were a recipe inspiration, but we sort of messed it up since we didn't pay enough attention to the puff pastry defrosting.  While they were delicious, we are going to have to try again, w...

Next week I start my new job at Wishard. What?!?!?!  I am getting excited. But I am mostly getting nervous. I feel woefully unprepared to start a new chapter, probably because I didn't seek out this particular change.  This job is a lot of things I've always wanted.  I'll be doing something I love, I'll be using a part of my degree (unheard of, right?), I'll be working in healthcare, I'll be serving the under-served.  It's so many things I have worked so hard to do.  And I don't want to mess it up. I don't want to suck.  I didn't realize that getting what you wanted could be so intimidating.  Our pastor preached on having faith in God like a child on Sunday. He gave the example of how his children will blindly jump off the stairs into his arms, trusting that each and every time they will be caught. This made me feel a little better. On Saturday, I took Nephew to the airport to meet his parents, who just came back from a 2 week missions t...

I don't tell a lot of stories about my dad. I love my dad a ton, but honestly, it's my mom that I call all the time. This past weekend, we stayed with my mom's only brother & his family. My husband, who always claimed my out-going personality was my father, changed his mind. "Your uncle is just like you! I see it now -- you two are an extroverted version of your mother!" So some times, I forget to give my dad a lot of credit. If you don't know this about me, I hate tests. I have major test anxiety. Give me an essay question about anything -- a subject I know nothing about -- and I'll ace it. Make me fill in bubbles, and well... I freeze up. When I took my ACT for the first time in high school, I got a crap score. I was a straight-A student, and I never did poorly on anything. My teachers loved me. I played 3 musical instruments. Clearly, something went terribly wrong. I was devastated and embarrassed. My father saw my score, and very compassion...

When I did an Urban Studies semester in San Francisco, I met the "friends from college" that everyone talks about. You know, those people with whom you had all those GREAT times, did crazy fun things, and keep in contact with for the rest of your life. I didn't get that at my alma mater, so this was a big deal for me. We always called our cozy times together the "Safe Space". Whether it was curled up together in a small room, hiding in the pantry praying, huddled on a sidewalk while the chicken man walked by, or laughing our butts off at a dance party, our friendship was a Safe Space. This Safe Space did me a lot of good. I have been hopping from Safe Space to Safe Space ever since. When I was low and had nothing, my sister and brother-in-law took me into their home. The 2 years that followed were some of the best of my life. They gave me a new Safe Space. When I married Robert, we had to work out how to make our own Safe Space for each other. This pas...

A couple of months ago, Robert and I started to talk about our lives. I've been working 2 part-time jobs, and while it has it's benefits, it is very, very draining. It is really difficult to coordinate some times. It was stressing me out. It wasn't working. So, we started to think about options. And this was my prayer, "Lord, this situation isn't working and I don't have a solution. Please, bring a change." A week later, I got an email from Wishard asking me about a job I had applied to back in October. They asked if I would interview. Skeptical, I agreed, as I had been there before. I've tried to work for Wishard on numerous occasions and have always had "good interviews". I've always been turned down. A week later, I went in for the interview. It went great. The manager, the team, the job, was all a perfect fit. The manager practically offered me the job! That same week, my church (where I currently work) put together a plan to...