Winter Love

I love this print. I think it looks like Noah and I.

ILLUSTRATION: Winter Wonderland by FloraFauna

Have a fabulous weekend!



TOMORROW!!!!

WE WILL BE IN SAN FRANCISCO!!!

My suitcase is packed, and I have all my liquids in a baggy! I am ready to go!! 

We are ready for a little vacation. Perfect getaway before the (what can be very) hectic holiday. 

Spoiled

Someday… : ) 

{Did You Know: Hippo milk is pink…}

Did you knowin every episode of Seinfeld there is a reference to Superman

Did you knowthe fortune cookie was invented in San Francisco       (I have San Francisco on the brain)Did you knowgiraffes and rats can last longer without water than camelsDid you knowif you try to say the alphabet without moving your lips or tongue every letter will sound the same         (Go ahead, try it…)Did you knowornithophobia is the fear of birds

 

(For you Melinda) 

Now You Know

℅ Did You Know

An Event: MNF

Noah and I will be at next week's Monday Night Football in San Francisco. I am so excited I can barely contain myself!!!!!! We have front row tickets in the end zone…. we WILL be on T.V. so keep an eye out!!!! I'll be the girl holding the sign that says, "Troy, will you marry me? My boyfriend loves you too." 

Go Steelers!! 

I LOVE TROY!!! 

{On My Wish List}

Isn't this fabulous??? It would look perfect on my desk at work!!

A french press and a tea infuser? What more could a caffine-addicted-about-to-cry-her-eyes-out-at-any-moment-super-stressed-grad-student want??

check it out: Right Here

{Social Work: Made Up Words}

You know, it's really hard to write a paper when the majority of the words I write have that annoying squiggly line underneath it. I am not misspelling words, no no. I am using words that have been made up by the Social Work profession, and Microsoft Word has yet to catch up!

For example:

Cissexual

Allyship

Heteronormative or Heteronormativity

Antiassimilationist

Effemimania 

…..To name a few.

So, can any profession just MAKE UP words??!! WTF? 

Okay… back to the paper. 

Images of 2011

As the year comes to an end, it seems almost like a tradition to reflect on the past 12 months and wonder what's ahead. 


2011 was filled with political movements, celebrity debauchery, and natural (and not so natural) disasters. 


Here is a link to 45 Most Powerful Images of 2011

Stress+Cravings= Sugar Cookies

When I am stressed, I eat. Not only do I eat, but I have cravings. Since starting grad school, I have used these cravings and turned them into opportunities to procrastinate writing papers. It seems to be working. 

Needless to say, I was stressed with going back and forth between two papers, and I wanted a way out.  

I wanted to eat. I wanted to eat sugar. I wanted to eat cookies. I wanted to eat sugar cookies. I had all almost all ingredients. I was missing eggs. What's a girl to do? Improvise. 

I made sugar cookies without eggs. 

Here's how: 

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Oven
• Cookie sheets
• Parchment paper
• Mixing bowl
• Measuring cup
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup shortening or butter
• Electric mixer
• 1 cup milk
• Measuring spoons
• 1 1/2 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• Spatula
• Cooling rack

1. • 1
     Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
   • 2
     Line cookie sheets with parchment paper for an easy clean-up.
   • 3
     Put 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of solid shortening or butter into a mixing bowl. Beat together with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy.
   • 4
     Pour 1 cup milk into a measuring cup. Add 1 1/2 tbsp. of lemon juice. This is called "soured milk" and is a common substitute for buttermilk. Add the soured milk to the mixing bowl.
   • 5
     Add 2 cups flour and combine well.
   • 6
     Place 1 tsp. each of salt, baking powder, baking soda and vanilla to the sugar cookie dough mixture.
   • 7
     Mix the dough well until all of the ingredients are incorporated.
   • 8
     Use a teaspoon to measure out the sugar cookies. Roll into balls with your hands and place on the cookie sheet. Sprinkle additional sugar on top of each cookie if you wish.
   • 9
     Bake cookies for about eight minutes or until the edges are just beginning to turn golden brown. Remove from the cookie sheets with a spatula and cool on a wire cooling rack.

{What's Inside: Our Produce Box}

We received our first produce box this morning! The produce comes from a local farm and everything is organic. The box contained: apples, pomegranates, pears, carrots, kale, leeks, lettuce, yellow potatoes, celery and squash. So far I have enjoyed an apple, a pear and carrots. The carrots were the best carrots I have ever tasted. Of course, I felt like Bugs Bunny eating them…considering they looked like it was just pulled out of the ground…. but it was delicious!!

Tomorrow night we are going to have a side of roasted squash and kale. As you may know from This Post, I love kale.

Buying and eating from a local farm not only tastes good, but it feels good  to support  local farmers and a sustainable environment.

For more information about Full Circle, click HERE. 

Super Suck Sunday

I am doing the SUCK first, because the Super is just too SUPER to followup with stuff that sucks… Anyways…

SUCK

• Not drinking enough water before Hot Yoga. I mean, the 90 minute class's intention is for you to suffer and push yourself, but this was just ridiculous. I was so parched and off balanced. I will NEVER do that again!
• The temperature was 28 degrees the other morning. The complete reverse feeling of hot yoga. I wouldn't care as much if I didn't have to let the dog out into the frigid morning. I felt bad for him! Would YOU want to crawl out of your warm bed and pee in below 30 degree weather? Probably not. 
• Starbucks people are supposed to be the best, right? You know, star quality? Why can't they figure out my beverage? I only change one thing about it, but they just can't get it right! Really screws up my morning. 
• The Oregon Ducks lost last night. The game was so intense and stressful that for a majority of the game I was pacing back and forth in front of the T.V. After they lost, I got a bloody nose. Seriously… a bloody frickin nose. Noah can vouch for me; no lie. 

SUPER

• Thanksgiving is next week. This is an easy one. Not only do I get to partake in the eating-until-you-can't-eat-one-more-bite-then-take-a-nap-and-eat-some-more tradition, but the boy and I get to go home and be with our families. Now THAT's something to be thankful for. 
• Roller Derby! I love it. I love pushing myself. I love the community that I have been welcomed in to. We get uniforms soon, and I have applied for my Derby name. Apparently the application of a derby name is a pretty big deal. Who knew? 
• We get our first produce box tomorrow morning! We will now be getting our produce from local farms, and it's delivered right to our door. Check it out: Full Circle Farm
• Things that seem to just happen serendipitously. Okay, so for you to fully understand how crazy this is, I must give you the backstory.  BACKSTORY:  My Saturday class usually gets out at 4 PM. The night before, my professor let's us know that we will only be going until 12:30, as he has to go out of state. I had been wanting to buy a book, but couldn't decide if I wanted a hardcopy, or if I wanted to just buy it on my iPad (I know.. tough decision). Instead of heading straight home after class, I decided to go to the University Bookstore. I have a Gift Card and figured I can just buy the book. As I am standing in front of the rack of books, I see there is a line forming. I ask the lady in front of me what it's for. With a smile she says, "It's for the book you're holding. Mindy will be here at 2." I look at my watch. It's ten after one. "What? Mindy is coming HERE?" The lady responds with, "Yeah! She's going to sign books! Go buy one, I'll hold your spot!" My spot just happened to be tenth in line. The women (almost the entire line of about 200 people, were women) around me asked me if I had any idea. I didn't! NO IDEA. I just wanted to buy her book! The story gets better….     

So, there I was. About to meet Mindy Kaling from NBC's The Office. I walk up, I have my book ready for her to sign, and my phone ready for this awesome photo opportunity. She (as in Mindy) says, "Oh my gosh, I love your scarf! And look at your nails! They're like mine! We're sparkle twins!"*Her and I both had sparkly nail polish on. Almost identical shades.

At this point I am completely starstruck. Not only am I in front of someone who I watch on T.V. every Thursday night, but she is complimenting me! SHUT.UP. We pose for the picture. 

I just happened to be in the right place, at the most perfect time. If my professor wouldn't have shortened the day, if I would have decided to purchase it on my iPad or elsewhere. If I would have decided to go straight home. Crazy. And so random… 

Here's the proof:                                    

I am about 150 pages into her (autographed) book and it's hilarious. Even if you aren't an Office fan, if you're a chick and like to laugh… read this book. Even if you don't like to laugh, this book would be good for you. 

Click HERE to view her book

{Recommended Read: Whipping Girl by Julia Serano}

As an assigned text for my Gender Theory class, I am reading Julia Serano's, "Whipping Girl". As a transexual women, Julia shares her experiences pre- and post-transition. This is not a confessional tell-all that non-trans people seem to constantly want to hear. She does not tell about the details of sex reassignment surgery and hormones in gory detail. The intent of her book was to debunk many of the myths and misconceptions that people have about transexual women, as well as gender in general. She breaks down sex, gender, privilege, feminism and love. 


This book might make some uncomfortable, as the subject is still ridiculed and severely misunderstood. This book is personal, analytical and will challenge you. 


A recommended read. 


My professor has arranged for Julia to Skype into our last class. We have the opportunity to ask her questions, and hear directly from her. I feel honored and am looking forward to it. 


Check her out: 

Body Image & Being a Woman

Adriana Lima, Victoria's Secret model, describes what it takes to attain the body you see at VS Fashion Show. The routine includes two strenuous work-outs with a personal trainer every day, a diet specifically created for her by a nutritionalist with little or no fats and carbs, consuming only egg-powder-based protein shakes for 9 days before a show, and dehydrating her body (no liquids) the day before going on stage. Her literal full-time job is keeping up her appearance... and yet the VS Fashion Show "allegedly defines what the world perceives as the hottest-sexiest-most beautiful female form."

Fuck Off.

In her honor, I'll eat a bowl of ice cream while watching the VS show. And I will love by body more with every bite.

c/o thecsph.tumblr.com

Hell Yes.

c/o HipHipGinGin

{Homemade Winter Meal}

I found this recipe from the WholeFoods website, seen HERE. I made some changes to it, so here's my version. 

Winter Squash Stew 

Ingredients

2 sprigs parsley
2 sprigs thyme
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
3 TBS minced garlic
1 cup apple cider
1 quart vegetable broth
4 cups chopped kale or other dark, leafy greens(tough ribs removed)

1 Zucchini, sliced and halved
2 cups cooked white beans, drained
Salt and pepper to taste
1 pound peeled and seeded butternut squash, cut into 1-inch chunks

Directions

Tie parsley, thyme and bay leaves together with a piece of kitchen twine and set herb bundle aside.

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and herb bundle and cook until onions are just softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and zucchini, continue to cook until onions are translucent, 3 to 4 minutes more. Add cider (this is the best part, it add a special flavor) and broth and bring to a boil, then add kale, beans, salt and pepper, reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes. 

                           

 

Add squash and cook until just tender, about 10 minutes more. I love how the squash adds a little fall color. YUM!

Discard herb bundle, ladle stew into bowls and serve! 

_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_

Quick Dinner Rolls

I wanted some carbohydrate with this soup, but I didn't want to go to the store. So I googled 'easy dinner rolls' and this is what popped up. Only 3 ingredients! I actually didn't have the mayonnaise, but I did have Vegenaise. If you like Mayo and havent tried Vegenaise - I highly recommend it. So much healthier! 

Ingredients

• 1 cup self-rising flour
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic (I added this ingredient because the reviews said they may be a little bland) 

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). If you are not using a nonstick muffin pan, grease 5 cups of a regular muffin pan.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, milk, mayonnaise and garlic. Spoon into the 5 prepared muffin cups.
3. Bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until nicely puffed and browned.

I am actually impressed with myself! It was delicious! Even the Boy rates it 4 Stars, meaning he wouldn't mind if I made it again. Yum!