Upon re-reading the below post, I thought maybe it would be good to clarify that I don't really have anything against nerds because my dad is actually a nerd so if it wasn't for nerds I wouldn't be here and I wouldn't be the woman I am today without the nerds in my life. And I was homeschooled, so pretty much I was/still am a nerd. I think you can kind of understand the effect I was going for, though...
Friday, January 27, 2012
Thankful things
...for Sharalyn, our new roommate. I couldn't have asked for a more different replacement for Sarah, but at the same time, I don't think I could have asked for a better replacement! Love you already, Sharalyn!
...For how this just confirms to me again how it is when God works on His time, not mine. And when it's God's time, it just fits so beautifully.
...For last night. It was clear, cold. The thin sliver of moon shone out over the Christmas tree farm and the stars looked so clear and different than they do in the winter. Fierce, almost touchable. The cold haze glowed on the horizon.
...For the beginnings of an answer to prayer. Did you know that I've pretty much never had confidence in playing piano? Kinda ironic when you figure I majored in piano in college. I'm becoming more aware that this lack of confidence is the chasm that separates me from being the kind of player I could potentially be. I didn't realize how much negative self-talk I gave into when I'm playing. Pretty much my internal commentary during practice goes something like: "You're making a mistake. It's not good enough. You can't make that run. You aren't able to play those octaves or those chords. You aren't ever going to be able to play that right. You aren't ever going to be able to play it up to speed...." On and on. This made me make more mistakes and then contributed to the horrible tension problem I have in my playing. I didn't even realize this is what was going on in my head! So I prayed about it! Why did I wait like 10 years to pray about this? I prayed that God would give me confidence in my playing. I think maybe I was afraid to pray this because I thought that confidence=arrogance and this is simply not true. The confidence from God is a confidence in what I am able to do because God has gifted me. It's a confidence in the Lord. And it was really cool, yesterday I couldn't stay away from the piano! I haven't been this stoked about practicing since I was a junior in high school! And the music started to flow. The tension left. The songs started getting "into" my hands. And then, I'm starting to pray whenever those negative words creep into my head. I'm just saying, "Lord, help!" Can't begin to explain the difference it makes. It's not a cure, but a process and I feel like things are actually going forward instead of staying the same.
...For a longer-term direction in life. My dear friend Melissa came over last night and we were talking about where we felt God was taking us, and I shared with her how last year, I felt that God was calling me to be content where I was and to go deeper. So last year I really focused on investing in my friends and getting more involved in my church and doing things in the context I was in. But after the new year, I really feel the Lord pulling me in a different direction. I'm not as content in my church right now and even not super content to stay put here in my hometown. I'm not sure why, but I think it's the beginning of a process towards a change in my life. Then all of a sudden, the thought of going to grad school that I've flirted with for the past 3 years has started to become a real goal. My piano teacher is starting to work with me to help me get an audition for next spring together (a year from now). I'm excited about the pieces: a Chopin Ballade, a Bach French Suite, and possibly a Prokofiev Sonata. Big stuff (except maybe the Bach), super cool stuff. Right now I'm thinking about Portland State but we'll see where God leads. Or maybe this is just a place to be for now and I won't actually go. At least it's giving me a vision for the next 3 years or so and maybe this restlessness I'm feeling is getting me ready to uproot to Portland for awhile. Who knows.
...For running! I'm training for my first marathon (eeep!!!!), so far training is going great. Ran my first "real" long run last weekend at 11 miles and hope to make 12 this weekend. My friend Jen's younger brother has been running with me once as week, and that's been great because he's going to be in the Marines so that means that we run FAST, or actually he runs really slow and I pant to keep up. I feel like a puffing armadillo with him, but the challenge is super and it also sounds really cool to say, "I just went running with a Marine". Just so long as they don't post the video on facebook, my hardcore image is preserved.
...For a new haircut that has given me a new outlook on life! I just chopped basically all my hair off. It's never been this short before. I just went in and did it. At first, I was ready to cry because i thought it looked horrible and ugly. I felt like I no longer knew myself. Also, I guess I secretly thought my long hair has been the one pretty and schmexy thing about myself and then it was taken away, leaving me as some kind of matronly/adolescent/unisex creature that can only attract puny little nervous nerd guys with full-on beards and tucked-in button up shirts. I'm starting to live with it now - it's helping me discover a new aspect to my personality (how introspective can ya get??) and maybe I won't be stuck with the puny nerd guy after all. I think I can pull "cute" off better with short hair so that's a plus.
Thankful for a lot,
Karen
...For how this just confirms to me again how it is when God works on His time, not mine. And when it's God's time, it just fits so beautifully.
...For last night. It was clear, cold. The thin sliver of moon shone out over the Christmas tree farm and the stars looked so clear and different than they do in the winter. Fierce, almost touchable. The cold haze glowed on the horizon.
...For the beginnings of an answer to prayer. Did you know that I've pretty much never had confidence in playing piano? Kinda ironic when you figure I majored in piano in college. I'm becoming more aware that this lack of confidence is the chasm that separates me from being the kind of player I could potentially be. I didn't realize how much negative self-talk I gave into when I'm playing. Pretty much my internal commentary during practice goes something like: "You're making a mistake. It's not good enough. You can't make that run. You aren't able to play those octaves or those chords. You aren't ever going to be able to play that right. You aren't ever going to be able to play it up to speed...." On and on. This made me make more mistakes and then contributed to the horrible tension problem I have in my playing. I didn't even realize this is what was going on in my head! So I prayed about it! Why did I wait like 10 years to pray about this? I prayed that God would give me confidence in my playing. I think maybe I was afraid to pray this because I thought that confidence=arrogance and this is simply not true. The confidence from God is a confidence in what I am able to do because God has gifted me. It's a confidence in the Lord. And it was really cool, yesterday I couldn't stay away from the piano! I haven't been this stoked about practicing since I was a junior in high school! And the music started to flow. The tension left. The songs started getting "into" my hands. And then, I'm starting to pray whenever those negative words creep into my head. I'm just saying, "Lord, help!" Can't begin to explain the difference it makes. It's not a cure, but a process and I feel like things are actually going forward instead of staying the same.
...For a longer-term direction in life. My dear friend Melissa came over last night and we were talking about where we felt God was taking us, and I shared with her how last year, I felt that God was calling me to be content where I was and to go deeper. So last year I really focused on investing in my friends and getting more involved in my church and doing things in the context I was in. But after the new year, I really feel the Lord pulling me in a different direction. I'm not as content in my church right now and even not super content to stay put here in my hometown. I'm not sure why, but I think it's the beginning of a process towards a change in my life. Then all of a sudden, the thought of going to grad school that I've flirted with for the past 3 years has started to become a real goal. My piano teacher is starting to work with me to help me get an audition for next spring together (a year from now). I'm excited about the pieces: a Chopin Ballade, a Bach French Suite, and possibly a Prokofiev Sonata. Big stuff (except maybe the Bach), super cool stuff. Right now I'm thinking about Portland State but we'll see where God leads. Or maybe this is just a place to be for now and I won't actually go. At least it's giving me a vision for the next 3 years or so and maybe this restlessness I'm feeling is getting me ready to uproot to Portland for awhile. Who knows.
...For running! I'm training for my first marathon (eeep!!!!), so far training is going great. Ran my first "real" long run last weekend at 11 miles and hope to make 12 this weekend. My friend Jen's younger brother has been running with me once as week, and that's been great because he's going to be in the Marines so that means that we run FAST, or actually he runs really slow and I pant to keep up. I feel like a puffing armadillo with him, but the challenge is super and it also sounds really cool to say, "I just went running with a Marine". Just so long as they don't post the video on facebook, my hardcore image is preserved.
...For a new haircut that has given me a new outlook on life! I just chopped basically all my hair off. It's never been this short before. I just went in and did it. At first, I was ready to cry because i thought it looked horrible and ugly. I felt like I no longer knew myself. Also, I guess I secretly thought my long hair has been the one pretty and schmexy thing about myself and then it was taken away, leaving me as some kind of matronly/adolescent/unisex creature that can only attract puny little nervous nerd guys with full-on beards and tucked-in button up shirts. I'm starting to live with it now - it's helping me discover a new aspect to my personality (how introspective can ya get??) and maybe I won't be stuck with the puny nerd guy after all. I think I can pull "cute" off better with short hair so that's a plus.
Thankful for a lot,
Karen
Thursday, January 19, 2012
The Pleasures of Cooking for One - review
While at a closeout sale for a bookstore (which made me sad - another indication of the shift from paper to electronic. But who am I to bemoan this from a blog post of all things?), I saw this book on sale and the title captured me instantly. A few flips through the page, and I was sold.
Judith Jones was the editor for Julia Child's cookbooks. This book explains how she, as a single woman cooks for herself, and does so in a way that recognizes the importance of the entire process of cooking, from shopping for quality ingredients, to preparing with love and consideration, to consuming in style. Basically, it is a single person's retort to the T.V. dinner.
Most valuable from this book has been the philosophy she presents, a philosophy of reusing a dish to make new ones, which she calls "reincarnations". This was a revolutionary idea for me, which motivated the whole chicken episode that I blogged about yesterday. Rather than making a single dish out of a single boneless, skinless chicken breast, why not roast a whole chicken, then make delicious, unique meals from the leftovers? After all, buying a whole chicken is often more cost-effective than a bag of frozen chicken breasts and tastes better, too. When cooking, Judith likes to use up what she already has and shop with potential reincarnated dishes in mind. This is a wonderful approach because just about any single person who cooks will tell you the most annoying thing in the world is a refrigerator full of molding leftovers or spoiling ingredients.
Second most valuable are her reductions of everyday recipes. I have used her crepe recipe to make a delicious breakfast for myself without leftovers, and I didn't have to do a bunch of math to reduce the recipe myself. Not only that, but her recipes are good. I consider myself able to put together a decent stir fry for myself without a recipe, but her pork stir-fry recipe was amazing. Interesting, too was that she writes from the perspective of someone who cooks and shops seasonally and locally from New England. This unique viewpoint has been refreshing - crepes are delicious when layered with yogurt and maple syrup, and a maple-syrup flavored panna cotta is a great way to use up some milk approaching its expiration date. Also, I tend to cook mostly with olive oil, but she cooks mostly with butter, more Julia Child-esque, I suppose. It's been good to realize you can cook with butter and still cook nutritiously.
For the single person who desires to step up their cooking a notch and do it in a way that works with their lifestyle, I highly recommend this book, not only for the great recipes, but also for the creative and inspirational advice, from ways to store cream sauce and herbs to ways to use up leftover milk. It's also fun to drool over the pictures and fantisize about a lifestyle that could include a weekly trip to an artisan cheese shop. Even two people living together could probably still benefit from this book as I think two people still deal with similar cooking challenges that one person faces.
Trying to stay dry and thankful for a warm and cozy little home,
Karen
Most valuable from this book has been the philosophy she presents, a philosophy of reusing a dish to make new ones, which she calls "reincarnations". This was a revolutionary idea for me, which motivated the whole chicken episode that I blogged about yesterday. Rather than making a single dish out of a single boneless, skinless chicken breast, why not roast a whole chicken, then make delicious, unique meals from the leftovers? After all, buying a whole chicken is often more cost-effective than a bag of frozen chicken breasts and tastes better, too. When cooking, Judith likes to use up what she already has and shop with potential reincarnated dishes in mind. This is a wonderful approach because just about any single person who cooks will tell you the most annoying thing in the world is a refrigerator full of molding leftovers or spoiling ingredients.
Second most valuable are her reductions of everyday recipes. I have used her crepe recipe to make a delicious breakfast for myself without leftovers, and I didn't have to do a bunch of math to reduce the recipe myself. Not only that, but her recipes are good. I consider myself able to put together a decent stir fry for myself without a recipe, but her pork stir-fry recipe was amazing. Interesting, too was that she writes from the perspective of someone who cooks and shops seasonally and locally from New England. This unique viewpoint has been refreshing - crepes are delicious when layered with yogurt and maple syrup, and a maple-syrup flavored panna cotta is a great way to use up some milk approaching its expiration date. Also, I tend to cook mostly with olive oil, but she cooks mostly with butter, more Julia Child-esque, I suppose. It's been good to realize you can cook with butter and still cook nutritiously.
For the single person who desires to step up their cooking a notch and do it in a way that works with their lifestyle, I highly recommend this book, not only for the great recipes, but also for the creative and inspirational advice, from ways to store cream sauce and herbs to ways to use up leftover milk. It's also fun to drool over the pictures and fantisize about a lifestyle that could include a weekly trip to an artisan cheese shop. Even two people living together could probably still benefit from this book as I think two people still deal with similar cooking challenges that one person faces.
Trying to stay dry and thankful for a warm and cozy little home,
Karen
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
1 chicken, 1 week
So I'm trying to see how well I can make "real food" for myself while still being busy and single.
Actually, when it comes to food, it's so wonderful being single...if I feel like eating cold cereal for dinner all week long, I can and no one can stop me! And if I want to stay up until 9 PM making a fancy meal, no one's going to complain that dinner isn't ready yet. It's great.
I still try to make healthy choices, though, and make stuff from scratch as much as possible. It can get hard when I work until 7PM many weeknights and come home tired and hungry and not at all motivated to cook something from scratch.
I hope to spend a few posts explaining how I get around these unique cooking barriers. Here's the first thing I did this month and it has been great.
I went to Roth's the first weekend in January and picked up a whole chicken for about $5. I usually use the humble boneless skinless chicken breast for my chickenly needs, but I really, REALLY like bone-in chicken better and was craving a whole roasted chicken.
I took the chicken home and cut off the drumsticks and used those to make Tagine (the north african dish I ate a lot of over Christmas...I brought home the special pot you need to make Tagine). That lasted me two meals.
Then I roasted the remainder of the chicken whole. I got this great rub that I rubbed under the skin first from a great cookbook I'll talk more about in a later post called "The Pleasures of Cooking for One." I roasted the chicken with the typical Root Vegetables that Get Roasted With Chicken and Stuff. (you know, carrots, potatoes, onions....) I did it during the day since I had some time and then ate some of it for lunch. Third meal with said chicken.
Oh, but before I roasted the chicken I cut out the entire backbone so the chicken would cook faster and because I wanted chicken noodle soup. So the next day, I tossed the rest of the veggies, the chicken back, and some more appropriate veggies for chicken soup into the crock-pot and left it on for the day. Upon arriving home, I stuck some rice noodles in the broth, plus some of the cut-up white meat from the roasted chicken. I ate that for dinner and then the following lunch. Fourth and Fifth meal with the same chicken. Then I froze the two remaining portions of the soup in tupperware containers so that when I come home tired and hungry, i just have to nuke one of the giant chicken noodle soup cubes and have warm soup for dinner. Brilliant. I've already done this before with leftover bean soup and pumpkin soup. So potentially two more meals with the chicken, making 7 meals total so far.
Then I made chicken quesadillas with some cut-up wing meat for a quick lunch on the go one day.... 8.
And one night I added some cheese, taco sauce, and salsa to more cut up meat all in a whole wheat tortilla and had chicken tacos....9. Yeah, culinary prowess and brilliance right here....
And one morning I made an omelet with more of the cut-up chicken and a slice of bacon.... yum...9...
And I think I had a chicken sandwich with a pickle somewhere in there as well. I think that was the day of the first round of chicken noodle soup....11....
Then I made this AMAZING lentil salad that I'll have to share sometime. It's great. I cut up the rest of the chicken and mixed it in with the lentils, quinoa, and veggies tossed with vinegrette. That has lasted me three meals so far and I think I have enough for one more. 15.
How cool is that? Pretty much a whole week's worth of lunches and dinners, all from one chicken that I got on sale at Roth's! Of course, I am a little chickened out right now, but again, everything was different enough that it stayed pretty interesting and no one else was there to complain about there being chicken again. I think if I ever get married it will be an adjustment. Maybe I'll just tell my husband to shut up and be thankful he's getting food, even if it's quinoa and lentils for the 17th time in a row....pretty sure I'm going to be *that* kind of cook....
Happily stuck in a rut,
Karen
Actually, when it comes to food, it's so wonderful being single...if I feel like eating cold cereal for dinner all week long, I can and no one can stop me! And if I want to stay up until 9 PM making a fancy meal, no one's going to complain that dinner isn't ready yet. It's great.
I still try to make healthy choices, though, and make stuff from scratch as much as possible. It can get hard when I work until 7PM many weeknights and come home tired and hungry and not at all motivated to cook something from scratch.
I hope to spend a few posts explaining how I get around these unique cooking barriers. Here's the first thing I did this month and it has been great.
I went to Roth's the first weekend in January and picked up a whole chicken for about $5. I usually use the humble boneless skinless chicken breast for my chickenly needs, but I really, REALLY like bone-in chicken better and was craving a whole roasted chicken.
I took the chicken home and cut off the drumsticks and used those to make Tagine (the north african dish I ate a lot of over Christmas...I brought home the special pot you need to make Tagine). That lasted me two meals.
Then I roasted the remainder of the chicken whole. I got this great rub that I rubbed under the skin first from a great cookbook I'll talk more about in a later post called "The Pleasures of Cooking for One." I roasted the chicken with the typical Root Vegetables that Get Roasted With Chicken and Stuff. (you know, carrots, potatoes, onions....) I did it during the day since I had some time and then ate some of it for lunch. Third meal with said chicken.
Oh, but before I roasted the chicken I cut out the entire backbone so the chicken would cook faster and because I wanted chicken noodle soup. So the next day, I tossed the rest of the veggies, the chicken back, and some more appropriate veggies for chicken soup into the crock-pot and left it on for the day. Upon arriving home, I stuck some rice noodles in the broth, plus some of the cut-up white meat from the roasted chicken. I ate that for dinner and then the following lunch. Fourth and Fifth meal with the same chicken. Then I froze the two remaining portions of the soup in tupperware containers so that when I come home tired and hungry, i just have to nuke one of the giant chicken noodle soup cubes and have warm soup for dinner. Brilliant. I've already done this before with leftover bean soup and pumpkin soup. So potentially two more meals with the chicken, making 7 meals total so far.
Then I made chicken quesadillas with some cut-up wing meat for a quick lunch on the go one day.... 8.
And one night I added some cheese, taco sauce, and salsa to more cut up meat all in a whole wheat tortilla and had chicken tacos....9. Yeah, culinary prowess and brilliance right here....
And one morning I made an omelet with more of the cut-up chicken and a slice of bacon.... yum...9...
And I think I had a chicken sandwich with a pickle somewhere in there as well. I think that was the day of the first round of chicken noodle soup....11....
Then I made this AMAZING lentil salad that I'll have to share sometime. It's great. I cut up the rest of the chicken and mixed it in with the lentils, quinoa, and veggies tossed with vinegrette. That has lasted me three meals so far and I think I have enough for one more. 15.
How cool is that? Pretty much a whole week's worth of lunches and dinners, all from one chicken that I got on sale at Roth's! Of course, I am a little chickened out right now, but again, everything was different enough that it stayed pretty interesting and no one else was there to complain about there being chicken again. I think if I ever get married it will be an adjustment. Maybe I'll just tell my husband to shut up and be thankful he's getting food, even if it's quinoa and lentils for the 17th time in a row....pretty sure I'm going to be *that* kind of cook....
Happily stuck in a rut,
Karen
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Another update...
This is just a quick update on how Spain has been.
I really like Spain a lot. The first reason I think I like it so much is the food is awesome. We have had no bad food here. I'm sure it's because it all has pleanty of fat and salt and stuff!
We brought in the new year in the Plaza del Sol, the center of Madrid, with thousands of drunk Madridians and tourists. We ate 12 grapes with every stroke of the clock at midnight, the traditional way to ring in the new year.
So far, some of our favorite things have been wandering the Sol at night with it all lit up for Christmas, seeing the sunset at the site of an Egyptian temple that was transported here from Egypt as a thank you to Spain for helping restore the Pyramids, and seeing Toledo, a small city just south of Madrid that is still intact like it was back in Medieval times. It's been a wonderful time and I only wish there was more time to go further into the country and see Barcelona and other places. However, I'm starting to get sick of living out of a suitcase and will be happy to return home and jump back into daily life! Thanks everyone for your prayers and I'm looking forward to being back in a place where I'm no longer a minority! Haha!
Happy 2012,
Karen
I really like Spain a lot. The first reason I think I like it so much is the food is awesome. We have had no bad food here. I'm sure it's because it all has pleanty of fat and salt and stuff!
We brought in the new year in the Plaza del Sol, the center of Madrid, with thousands of drunk Madridians and tourists. We ate 12 grapes with every stroke of the clock at midnight, the traditional way to ring in the new year.
So far, some of our favorite things have been wandering the Sol at night with it all lit up for Christmas, seeing the sunset at the site of an Egyptian temple that was transported here from Egypt as a thank you to Spain for helping restore the Pyramids, and seeing Toledo, a small city just south of Madrid that is still intact like it was back in Medieval times. It's been a wonderful time and I only wish there was more time to go further into the country and see Barcelona and other places. However, I'm starting to get sick of living out of a suitcase and will be happy to return home and jump back into daily life! Thanks everyone for your prayers and I'm looking forward to being back in a place where I'm no longer a minority! Haha!
Happy 2012,
Karen
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Update like 5 I think....
Some more snapshots....
Riding a horse and buggy to the tannery!
The tannery didn't smell too great, but we had a fun quick tour in english!
One of many mosques
Playing dress-up with a friend's caftan.
We did balloon twisting...I think we popped more than we actually successfully twisted, but that's OK!
Intense and gory balloon battles ensued....
Balloon flower princess...
We love the variety of emotion and personality represented in this photo!
Getting bored while playing Twister on the roof....
Last full day in this town. We went to a cafe with an upstairs balcony so we could spy on people and eat lovely food! This is Tajine. I am still not tired of it yet!
Last fresh squeezed orange juice. It's only $1 for two of us to have a glass each.
Had some friends over for banana pancakes and we had so much fun talking and laughing!
I can't believe I'm leaving tomorrow. How sad. Tomorrow begins our adventures in Spain.... so with that, adios, chicos y chicas! Hasta la vista! :)
Karen
Monday, December 26, 2011
Update 4 - Christmas edition!
A few snapshots of a North African Christmas!
Making Christmas Bread without gluten.
Christmas Eve celebration where we got together with some local women and shared our Christmas traditions with them!
Playing Christmas songs for everyone
Merry Christmas Morning! We went to the Sunday Souk (basically Arab Farmer's Market) to get vegetables. We could also have bought live goats or cows or sheep if we had so desired.
Our happy little Christmas tree!
Greatly excited about all the Christmas presents sent from people at home - Country music cd was one of the favorites!
All the loot + gluten free christmas bread!
It amazes me that in this country, I have seen people living as primitively as they did when Jesus was born, yet a few hours away is a completely modern city, complete with Pizza Hut and Micky D's.
We went to the beach city for Christmas and were able to worship with other believers and the next day spent time being rich tourists at the tourist town!
This is like the most hoopla I've seen yet about Christmas/New Year's, but that's just because there are so many tourists here!
Also were able to visit Laura's old language teacher from last time she was here, which was a very fun time! Why do I get to meet such wonderful people; it's horrible because I meet them, love them, and then have to leave forever! :(
Merry Christmas! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas with family and friends like we did, even though I still am not convinced that it is Christmas due to the dusty dry and sunny weather! :) Oh well, in a few days we'll get our Christmas weather in Madrid! :)
Karen
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