swirling tides

you know that feeling you get when life is changing? 
it's like standing in the middle of a river. 
you can feel the current pushing you forward... or you can fight it and try and walk upstream. 
(i don't usually recommend the latter)
i have this theory:
life is going to work out.


i get so caught up in the fast-paced lifestyle... that i forget to stop and smell the roses that are blooming all around my house...

i keep thinking that everything has to be done NOW!
there is no time to breathe. to think. to do anything other than stress about life.
but you know what?
it's all going to be ok.
so sit back. 
breathe.








i have a slight obsession with this song.
:)

the garden. 
my mom didn't get the memo that slavery was abolished...
at least it gives me something to do while i am looking for a job. (any takers?) my dad says that i have "slave labor" written on my forehead. 


speaking of change, my mom talked me into doing a diet... (shhh! you can't tell anyone...)
being an exercise physiology major, i personally find all of these things fascinating... so i am considering this more "research". 
it's all about becoming "leptin sensitive"
so what is leptin you ask?
it is a protein hormone that plays a "key role in regulating energy intake and energy expenditure, including appetite and metabolism." thank you wikipedia for that flash of inspiration...
basically. if you are "leptin sensitive", you don't get hungry. it's a natural appetite suppressant. 

basically... the mouse on the left is you without leptin.

i'm kidding.

there are 5 basic rules to this "leptin reset"

(the foodie in me died a little when i read this.)

rule 1:  never eat after dinner.  

rule 2:  eat three meals a day.  

rule 3:  do not eat large meals.  

rule 4:  eat a breakfast containing protein. 

rule 5:  reduce the amount of carbohydrates eaten.

if you want to read more in-depth about these rules see here.

what i've learned is that WHEN you eat is much more important than WHAT you eat. (this is only partially true... but you will need to do a little research on your own from here on out.)

suffice it to say, when i get munchy around 9:00 every night, the rest of the family packs up and leaves the room. ;)

the basic way of eating follows the paleo-diet. if you've never heard about it, just think caveman. if you didn't have a wal-mart down the street, and instead lived a million years ago, what would you be eating?

and then you eat it. 

and ONLY that.

which is all fine and dandy until you drive past the chinese buffet... 

self control might need to undergo an overhaul as well...

so we're still in the intial stages of this "experiment".

i'll keep you updated.

only 4 more weeks to go...

--------------------

if you would attain to what you are not yet, you must always be displeased by what you are. 

for where you are pleased with yourself there you have remained.

keep adding, 

keep walking, 

keep advancing.

saint augustine

grab and hold on for dear life.

how is everyone out there in the world?
having a fantastic day yet?

i think i am.
...not to mention i had the most amazint parfait for breakfast this morning.

this is just a thought on life that i have been having recently.
everything happens for a reason. 
(even looking for a job, and not getting anything!)
or applying to a program and not getting accepted.
it doesn't mean that you are a failure.
it just isn't the right time.
     or you are meant to do something else.

something that i've been learning is that i need to be more proactive.
i'm the kind of person that would like to believe in fate, but then i go taking it to the extreme and just expecting life to come handed to me on a silver platter.
(i've learned a very important secret)
it doesn't happen like that!
if you want anything to happen, you have to go out there and get it!
because you can do anything you want to.

this is a little blast from the past.
you gotta have some of these every once in a while.

now you have to go and try this.

i think that vanilla wafers are underrated.

i'm shining!

(this is my random thought for the day...)

there are so many times that i get so busy, trying to make sure that i get everything done, that i am the best friend, sister, daughter, whatever to everybody. but there are times when i get so caught up in doing things, that i forget the people that i am doing it for. there are times when we just need to sit back a little. there are times when we might need to drop something that is "important" for something that means much  more to us. 

there are times to shine. 

feel motivated yet?

you should

;)

because...

you are beautiful!!!

(i was informed by my sister that i hadn't posted in forever... and that she had actually managed to catch up on ALL of my blog posts. this is no good. so here ya go whittus.)

tired.

today was one of those emotionally draining days.
i don't like to complain. so i won't.
but at the end of today, i just wanted to crawl into my bed and escape all of the thinking that the day involved.
i think i should just go and live in the mountains. i'll eat berries and fish for my food. no more worrying about school, boys, selling swimsuits for a job... or any of that other silly stuff. just me and the birds. and possibly bears. (hmmmm this plan is starting to sound less and less appealing...)

*breathe*

tomorrow's gonna be ok.
it always is.

hmmmm.

a haiku (from a friend)

I’ve come to hate boys

You know what’s underrated?

Owning lots of cats

You Are Tired (I Think)
You are tired,
(I think)
Of the always puzzle of living and doing;
And so am I.
Come with me, then,
And we’ll leave it far and far away—
(Only you and I, understand!)
You have played,
(I think)
And broke the toys you were fondest of,
And are a little tired now;
Tired of things that break, and—
Just tired.
So am I.
But I come with a dream in my eyes tonight,
And knock with a rose at the hopeless gate of your heart—
Open to me!
For I will show you the places Nobody knows,
And, if you like,
The perfect places of Sleep.
Ah, come with me!
I’ll blow you that wonderful bubble, the moon,
That floats forever and a day;
I’ll sing you the jacinth song
Of the probable stars;
I will attempt the unstartled steppes of dream,
Until I find the Only Flower,
Which shall keep (I think) your little heart
While the moon comes out of the sea.

— E.E. Cummings

everything's gonna be ok.

friends forever :)

so i got an amish friendship bread starter a couple of weeks ago. 
it tried to take over my kitchen... 
but we solved the problem. and we ate it. 
all gone. 
we also gave 3 different starters away. 
but somehow, last week, i ended up getting a new one. (don't you guys have any other friends???)
so it's been sitting on my counter, just begging to be cooked up.
finally, tonight i got to it!
(we'll just pretend that it wasn't midnight when i decided to whip this stuff up...)


(i have no idea where this recipe originated. but i got it from here.)

amish cinnamon friendship bread

important tips:

• do not use a metal bowl or spoon for mixing (see my note about this below)
• do not refrigerate.
• it is normal for batter to thicken, bubble, or ferment

day 1: you receive the fermented batter in a 1 gallon ziploc bag. do nothing. just place the bag on the kitchen counter.

day 2: squeeze the bag several times.

day 3: squeeze the bag several times.

day 4: add 1 c. of flour, 1 c. of sugar, 1 c. of milk. squeeze bag.

day 5: squeeze the bag several times.

day 6: add 1 c. each flour, sugar, and milk. squeeze bag.

day 7: squeeze bag several times.

day 8: squeeze bag several times.

day 9: squeeze bag several times.

day 10: in a large, non-metal bowl, combine batter with 1 c. each flour, sugar, and milk. mix with a wooden spoon. pour four 1-cup starters into individual gallon ziploc bags. give away starters to friends with this set of directions. it is important to follow this sequence exactly.

to the remaining batter add:

• 1 c. canola oil
• 1 c. sugar
• 1 t. vanilla
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/2 t. baking powder
• 1 t. salt
• 2 c. flour
• 1/2 c. milk
• 1/2 t. baking soda
• 1 large box of instant vanilla pudding
• 2 t. cinnamon

in separate bowl, mix 1 t. cinnamon and 3 T. sugar. sprinkle into well-greased loaf pans and coat the sides with sugar mixture. do not use pam or other non-stick spray. bake at 350° for 1 hour or until done.

variations:

banana bread:

• 1 box instant banana pudding
• 1 mashed banana
• 2 handfuls of nuts

chocolate bread:

• 1 box of instant choc. pudding
• 1 T. cocoa
• 2 handfuls of chocolate chips

now for barb’s unapologetically non-conforming notes:

first, the bit about not using a metal bowl or spoon? horsefeathers. i think this falls into the “mystique” division. i always mix this up in my kitchenaid METAL mixing bowl. the only metal things that I really avoid are old aluminum utensils. aluminum is reactive metal. i haven’t personally seen this recipe react with aluminum, but i avoid it nonetheless. i suspect that the worst that might happen is the batter would take on a grayish cast.

second, it is NOT necessary to follow these steps precisely. if you forget to do anything with your starter for a week, don’t toss it out. if you WANT to delay making the bread up, stick the starter in the fridge. it will last MONTHS in a good, cold fridge. if it turns pink, it’s spoiled and THEN you should throw it out.

third, pam spray works just fine for greasing the loaf pans. maybe forbidding pam spray is supposed to make this sound more amish, but I MUCH prefer the texture that the pam and the sugar makes on the crust.

although my paper doesn’t say this explicitly, i have read many different places that only the amish know how to make the starter and it’s a deep dark secret. but that is also myth. i have no idea if this recipe started in the amish community, but there is nothing magical about the starter.

in fact, if you DO end up throwing out your pink spoiled starter, but have developed a taste for this friendship bread, you can start your own batch. simply put 1 c. flour, 1 c. sugar, 1 c. milk, and 1 T. yeast in a ziploc bag and let it sit on the counter. call that Day 1, and you’re good to go.

interesting note: there is a similar recipe in germany called hermann cake. this cake uses a starter as well. i’ve had hermann cake several times over the years in this country, so clearly that is also not a geographically proprietary recipe.

one thing that is NOT a myth is this. you MUST use boxes of instant pudding. cooked pudding mixes gives an entirely different and entirely unacceptable texture to this bread.

one last note: i’ve reduced the oil in the recipe to 2/3 c. with no bad effects.

bon apetit!

no mere mortal can resist.

i bet you all had the same reaction i did when you saw this movie.

i MUST learn this dance!

i learned it tonight. (and hopefully i will get to ahold of a video here shortly...)

.

.

.

what else have i been up to lately???

i realize that i fail miserably at updating this blog.

i'm repenting though.

even though that means i will have to limit my pinterest time...

*wipe a tear*

one of my favorite classes this semester is sports nutrition.

at times it makes me want to re-think my life and just go into dietetics.

i mean, what a better major than someone who loves food as much as i do?

it just makes sense.

but i guess i'll just have to own a bakery on the side.

hmmmm...

but i digress.

back to the subject.

sports nutrition. yes.

we had to develop a menu for an overnight hiking trip, and make sure that all of the calorie/carb/protein/and fat requirements fit.

the extra credit?

we had to make it.

and guess who made pizza tonight?!

it was... (considering it was supposed to be eaten while hiking, and NOT gourmet?)

actually pretty good.

i mean... flatbread pizza? not my first choice.

but it's hard to pass up pizza while camping.

i mean... come onnnnn!

(granted, we cheated a little. i mean, how am i supposed to dehydrate the spaghetti sauce to make a leather when i don't even own a dehydrator??? i mean, i want one. but i have nowhere to put it. and i have too much junk already.)

we just threw regular sauce and veggies on the flatbread, but you would normally use reconstituted sauce and re-hydrated dehydrated veggies (if you like veggies on your pizza.) top that with some cheese and you are set to go!

i can just imagine this cooking over a fire right now...

(and my mouth is watering.)

taken using my new phone!

i'm impressed.

alas... i haven't gotten cool enough to get a smart phone yet.

maybe someday...

well that's enough to bore you for now! 

(if you really want to see more of what i've been stalking for the past few hours... check 'em out!) 

here and here and here...

can you tell i'm excited for this summer?

i am SO going hiking.