A little update

I'm about to go do some reading and head to bed, but I have a few little updates, and more to come in the future.

First, I have a new blog section. http://healthierpanda.blogspot.com/ is a blog dedicated to helping me have motivation and accountability for the new exercise program I began today. I may also put healthy recipes and whatnot up, but for now, it's going to be all about the exercise and trying to report in as often as possible about how that's going. I put it in a separate blog, though, in case you want to skip the "aaahhh my muscles are so sore but I feel AWESOMEEEEE" posts, and just get the regular stuff.

Second, I was assigned to region 7. (That's the synods of NEPA, SEPA, NJ, Metro NYC, Upstate NY, New England, and Slovak-Zion.) I'll find out which synod on March 17th after having interviews with the bishops and their staffs (staves?) at an event at the seminary called "match" (or, if you're the students, "speed dating").

Third, I started working in the mailroom today. It's an interesting job with an interesting boss, but I like it. There's lots of time for doing homework, and I hear that starting in the mailroom is the best way to succeed in business without really trying.

Six hours of class tomorrow, and I'll have to be able to actually, you know, get up and down from chairs at different points in the day, so I'm going to finish this water and go to bed in the hopes that soreness isn't too bad.

New Project

I'm starting a new thing this semester. A few times over the past semester, I would post different images or articles on the door of my apartment. This semester, I'm going to post a different article each week. Not many people have to walk past my door, but it'll be fun for those who do, and it's fun for me to be finding the articles.

I should disclaim that while I'm not going to post anything that offends me, some of the things I'll be posting are for their thought-provoking nature, and not for any implicity or explicit "YEAH, RIGHT ON!" attitudes of myself.

Since the semester starts tomorrow, I've posted the first article, which comes from the ELCA website.

I'm going to also post either the article or a link to it here so you can all play along.

This week is "Clericalism and Anti-Clericalism"

I will Survive

 

The above image illustrates my plan for survive the weekend of snow, homework, and being sick. Alphabet veggie soup, a happy tea pot, and happy happy tea.

In case you can't read the description of the tea on the box, it is described by the brewmaster thusly:

This delectable holiday blend starts with naturally decaffeinated green tea and adds unmistakable seasonal flavors like cool peppermint, creamy vanilla and a dash of cinnamon.

Let it snow!

Chuck Slippers

Like Chuck Taylors, also known as Converse, or All Stars, but made from two strands of worsted held together.

Ragtime

When I was a small child, my mother would play the piano at night, usually shortly after my siblings and I had gone to sleep. She plays all kinds of music, but especially ragtime. Scott Joplin.

Fast forward.


I'm a student in graduate school. Home on a long weekend between classes. And what does my mother play to practice? Ragtime. And what does my body and brain do, as if instinctually? Fall asleep.

Being a grown-up

I was such a grown-up today. I'm done with that though for the next hour, then I'll be a grown-up for a good ten to fifteen minutes, then I'll go to sleep.

First, I got up and had breakfast while working on some homework and sending in an application for a two-week fellowship in the summer.

Then I practiced and played piano for chapel.

I came back to my apartment and had lunch. Lunch was two pieces of cinnamon raising bread spread each with a thin layer of homemade honey cinnamon walnut butter and then topped (each) with a liberal application of apple butter. (Liberal here meaning almost a lot of apple butter. I did not ask the apple butter about its political leanings.)

I then went to class. Well, I went early to keep working on my resume and an essay and review some things for class. I didn't want to go to class, 'cause I was super tired and not feeling great, but I went to class 'cause that's what grown-ups do.

After class, in which I was brilliant and observant, I went back to my apartment. At my apartment I finished my resume AND essay for the summer fellowship. I emailed them to mom for proofing, did dishes, made dinner, received the proofing, sent in the essay and resume, and wrote and sent in a report for a different thing.

THEN, feeling fully done with being a grown-up, I made hot chocolate. I put a soft peppermint in it.
BUT, it was too hot, so I ice massaged my feet. I hate ice massaging my feet. It makes them itch. I ice massaged both my feet for five minutes each. And now, I'm updating my blog, watching West Wing, and drinking hot chocolate. After all that, I'll put breakfast in the slow cooker (spiced pumpkin oatmeal, if I have the spices, otherwise just pumpkin oatmeal). I'll set my alarm for six hours later, at which point I'll turn the slow cooker down and go back to sleep until a reasonable hour.

Nut Butters

Aww man. I just made nut butter. Actually, I made three different kinds of nut butter in less than half an hour. Yeah, it's that easy.

I made (from left to right): honey cinnamon walnut butter, hazelnut butter, and dark chocolate hazelnut butter.

I can't get over how easy that was. Well, shelling the nuts took awhile, but you can buy them already shelled. then (for the hazelnuts) you roast them to loosen the skins, and (for both) put them in the food processor. Loud processing later and... bam. Nut butter. Yum.

Walnut butter has to have some flavor/sweetener because the skins don't come off so easily, and leave a bitter taste.  So first I added a little cinnamon, sugar, and salt. But it needed something more, and still had its bitter aftertaste, so I added honey.\

Hazelnut butter is good on its own, so when that was done processing, I took about half out, then added some cocoa powder and a little sugar.

Boom. Made that.