All Things Go

Working 40 hours a week is a beast. I mean, I like my job. It is an adventure all the time, but it feels like work. And I know I am underemployed, doing a job that does not require my skill level (whatever that may be). I am antsy to take on more, rather than just schedule volunteer activities or smile at donors or tell kids to stop running. I can do more, I am sure of it. Knowing that my job will only last until the beginning of April, I dream of what I will do when I have spare time and can go visit my siblings or finish my quilt. It is such a paradox, I hate being unemployed but employment feels a bit like prison. What is that?

But to sooth over my feeling of being grounded, I am going to Chicago! At the beginning of March, I will be presenting in a conference, a real, legit conference. It is the Comparative and International Education Society Conference. Some of my colleagues from my Nepal adventures are presenting a paper titled "21st Century Technology in Nepal: How Youth Technology Leaders Communicate and Collaborate in Rural Himalayan Villages." Exciting, no? We kind of have no idea what we are doing... but the point is I am going to Chicago for a week! I am going to find some tea stops, maybe watch a tapping of Opera, and walk around. If you've been, tell me what to do. It's my first time!

Soup is for Lovers

I just made that most incredible soup and I feel like the world needs to know about it. Have you ever had the Olive Garden's soup and salad for the lunch special? Well, I made the Zupa Toscana and it tasted just like the restaurant soup. But because I had made it... it tasted better. It was like I had reached nirvana with every spoonful of cream, kale, potatao and sausage. I finally get what all those Hindus in India were talking about. But seriously, incredible.

Try it, you won't be disappointed.

Zupa Tuscana Soup
1lb. spicy italian sausage, crumbled
1/2lb. smoked bacon, chopped (or bacon bits)
1 quart water
2 14oz cans chicken broth
2 large russet potatoes, scrubbed clean and cubed
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed (or minced garlic)
1 medium onion, chopped
2 C. kale, chopped (or 3 C because it is so good!)
1 C. heavy whipping cream (I ain't scared)
salt and pepper to taste (mostly just pepper

In a skillet over medium-high heat, brown sausage, breaking into small pieces as you cook. Rinse and set aside. Brown bacon. Place water, broth, potatoes, garlic, and onion in soup pot. Simmer over medium heat until potatoes are tender. Add sausage and bacon. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add Kale and cream. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Heat through.

Obsessions of 2009

How does one describe a year or access the impact of one year, one year of my life?  But it all seems so present and organic that it is hard to classify a year.  I graduated, had an internship, got a real job, finished my first knitting project, bought a car and went yurting. Seems like an eventful year.  

Here is a list of obessions I have had during the year 2009.

1. Andrew Bird .  Early on last year, his album 'Noble Beast' came out.  I listened to it non stop.  And I still listen to it pretty often but my obsession has subsided.  And I don't really understand the lyrics all that much but i feel like if I did then somehow it would be about me. And during 2009, I saw him in concert and he was everything I wanted and more.  A man with a violin and a voice, what more could you ask for.  My fav is 'tenuousness'.

2. Making a meaningful impact.  As I was getting ready to end my undergraduate I was exploring what I could do with this time in my life.   And all I really want to do is make a difference that is positive and meaningful.  

3. HIV/AIDS. In August, I started volunteering with Utah Aids Foundation and now I have shifted to the Utah Department of Health volunteering with the HIV/AIDS prevention program.  I have read test result, swabbed people's mouth, pricked their fingers and made STD spreadsheets.  I have learned a lot about sexually transmitted diseases since then  and I plan on learning even more this coming 2010.  

4.  Cooking.  Now that I live at my parent's house I have been able to cook all the things I never had the time or energy to cook when I was in college.  Like this awesome creamy rice and shrimp recipe and endless amounts of cookie dough.  

5.  Birthing.  I know I have mentioned it before, but I think it is amazing that women can produce little creatures.  Our bodies are amazing!

6.  Writing Resumes.  I spent a good portion of 2009 writing and rewriting resumes. And not just my own but other people's.   And a lot of time it does feel like you have to display every single good quality you have or else the potential employer will never see how awesome you are.  Rock on for kick butt resumes.

7.  Nepal.  Nepal was epic and it continues to come to me in my daydreams.  And every once in a while I am reminded that I was in a commercial in Nepal.  Viva Nepal!

8.  Not taking the Graduate Record Exam. I have intentions to go to grad school someday soon, maybe in like three years.  And I hear that it is best to take it while you are in school or right after.  Something about studying being easier.  In my last semester of college I had plans to take the test and then I rescheduled it like two time and then I just dropped it.  And I have had this book sitting on my night stand for about five months and it is the last thing I want to do.  I can't even express to you how much I do not want to study for this test.    Ugh.  

This is my Christmas Post

It sucks not having two whole weeks off for Christmas Break. What is this being an adult crap? Nothing is free anymore.  I had to work on Christmas Eve and for a little bit on Christmas day.  Having said that, I have been having a fantastic holiday break (without the  break part).

1. Last weekend I went up to East Canyon State Park and stayed overnight in a yurt.  Which was awesome and also very posh.  Inside the yurt there was a fireplace and beds and electricity.  So it was kind of like a hotel room in a yurt... without the bathroom.  But the bathroom was only just outside.  In the morning we went snowshoeing and wandered around the frozen lake in our snowshoes (not the best idea).  I loved reconnecting with dear friends, talking about real things and remembering that there are people in the world that get you.  

Inside the Yurt.  So so cozy
2. I went sledding with Sam, Mallory, Ziggy and the rents.  How beautiful it seems to live in a place where a sledding hill is just down the street from your house.  My reality has shifted so much from even 3 years ago where we spent Christmas in our house in Arizona where we could eat dinner outside and watched snow falling on the television.  

3.  Working on Christmas.  Didn't I just say I hated this?  For about two months I have been worried about what Christmas morning would be like for families in the shelter and feeling like it was up to me to make sure that the residents would forget that they were homeless, if only for this one day.  There was a lot of joy that morning and I am so relieved and excited that the morning and evening was a success and even more that I could be a part of it.  And glad that it is over.

4.  Being with my family has been pretty rockin.  Today, Paul and I went snowboarding at Canyon's and it was majestic.  Even though I got a bloody nose, there were worse things that could have happened.  

Stayed tuned for Obsessions of 2009... it's going to be epic

Stuffing and family pictures

Thanksgiving was awesome, awesome, awesome. My family finally took new family pictures. I am not hesitant to show off pictures of my gorgeous family but my mom is freaked out that they are going to be used on faulty weight loss ads and then our pictures will be on at least 100 hundred different web pages. So if you plan on doing that, maybe choose a different family.
My sister and I discovered that we dyed out hair the same exact color. Which makes us look like twins... or just sisters. The boy standing next to her in the brown is my soon to be brother-in-law, Zach. He is hip, well read, and dresses like Will from Glee which makes him nothing like us, but we welcome him and his matching socks!
This picture is the best. My dad, brothers and Zach frolicking in the field with Ziggy soaring through the grass. Sam looks interesting, doesn't he? My question is... what kind of company could use this picture for an ad?

Peace out

FACT

I am hesitant to share my opinion because I know that I am offending a lot of my friends.  But one day we will have to wake up and face the music. 

Happy Birthday Sam!

My parent left town and left me to be the guardian and care taker of my dog.  He is cute flat faced pug but also very needy.  He has to be touching a person at all times.  Rarely does my mood every match his.  It's weird, it's like I am never in the mood to run around the house like a crazy person.  Where has all my energy gone?  Sometimes, I look at the my little kid friends and become jealous of their stamina.  The other day, Kaliegh ran circles around me for ten minutes saying, 'can we do it now, can we do it now...'  How can she do it that?   I want that!

Today is Sam's birthday!  He is 26 years old!  What what!  When he got back from his mission, he started school at BYU.  We practically started at the same time.  And for awhile, before my parents made the exodus to the lovely deseret, he was all I had.  It seemed like, as the youngest child, I was always wanting to grow up so that my siblings could see me as a competent, intelligent peer.  Finally, I had been given this chance to prove to Sam that I was just like him.  Once i got over this complex of mine, I learned to appreciate everything that Sam was and is and I enjoyed so much, watching him grow up and find the woman of his dreams.  And while I am happy for him that he has a job and lives in Oregon with Lizzy-baby, I miss him and wish he were here to laugh with and give me advice.  Is this public enough? Happy Birhday big brother!