Comfort Food in September

This week I have made a lot of comfort foods for some reason. Once I explain my weekend, it will probably be very evident. Saturday I got to see my friends Don and Maggi Debenport who were on their way to San Marcos to visit their daughter (who is also my good friend) Amber. She is on the drill team at Texas State and they were going to get to see her perform. I had said earlier that week on Facebook that it was a very long, trying week and that I would pay for anyone's gas money who wanted to bring me Andy's Frozen Custard.

SIDE NOTE: If you've never had Andy's, it's worth the trip to Tyler or Arkansas to get it. There are only about 7 stores in the whole nation, but it is the best ice cream EVER!!!! I call it God's ice cream.

So on their way to San Marcos, Don and Maggi stopped in Belton for lunch and brought me Andy's. It was definitely a wonderful addition to my day. It's creamy and thick and doesn't have any of the granulated texture that some frozen concoctions do. Such good eats!

Unfortunately, they also brought me some not so happy news. Maggi teaches at my alma mater and told me, on the hush, that one of my favorite teachers was diagnosed with breast cancer. This was very shocking and troubling to me. It was one of those moments where you realize that you really don't have any control over anything. You're just a human and there's nothing you can do about some things. It never ceases to amaze me; however, how God works in mysterious ways. I had been thinking for weeks about calling my teacher, but hadn't really made the time. I've been doing a lot of reflecting in my education classes this semester about what makes a good teacher and why. Needless to say, God put her on my mind for a reason. When I called her on Saturday afternoon, she of course told me the news herself, and thanked me profusely, and petitioned for my prayers (which was really unnecessary, considering I began my prayer the minute I heard the news). She is in good spirits and has a good prognosis, but it just makes you stop and wonder.

My teacher is a very dear woman to me. She is part of the reason that I am who I am today (much like my mother, who is also, and will always be, my teacher). She is one of the teachers who made me want to become a teacher because you can make a difference. She is what Caine and I call a "real, strong woman." One of those women who don't take crap from anybody and can accomplish anything they set their minds to. The kind of woman that I aspire to be. The news of her cancer diagnosis made me realize that life really isn't guaranteed. Nothing is guaranteed; not even your next breath.

How scary is that? That no one knows if I'll even wake up tomorrow. It makes me think maybe all those corny songs about living in the moment and "overusing I love you" really are right. I don't want to wake up one morning and realize that I missed out on a chance to tell someone I care about that I love them, think about them, pray for them or miss them. I don't want to ever be too late. Not to say that I'm going to drop out of school and just have adventures because you have to live life on the edge. That's no way to live either. But I do plan to say I love you more.

So after feeling a little blue all weekend, I made comfort food. Nothing like a pot roast with carrots and potatoes on a rainy Monday night to cheer you up. I had dinner with three of my friends (Ashley, Jordan and Kayla) and it was just...good. I had found a pumpkin candle and we had homemade apple crisp for dessert. My kitchen smelled like pumpkin and cloves and nutmeg. One of those smells that lets you know that everything is right with the world. Then last night I had to take my dinner with me to work, but I still had a big piping bowl of comfort. My handy dandy cookbook has a recipe for a quicker version of chicken and dumplings. It was delicious.

It's funny how food works like that. It can remind you that even though the world is a generally terrible place, there are still wonderful things. Like friends, faith, rain, phone calls, dumplings, cinnamon, flowers, God, ice cream, and love.

Jude Law and a Summer in Belton

I'm sorry. Not to sound like Tim Tebow, but I'm sorry for not blogging all summer long. It was a very interesting summer to say the least, and I wish that I had written about my experiences more. I spent my summer in Belton and I worked 20 hours a week at the Center for Academic Excellence. During the summers our office is in charge of new student orientations, so that was a lot of fun, but it was also a little stressful. I went home SEVERAL times, but it didn't seem like enough. It was also nice because I was only 2 and 1/2 hours away from Caine instead of 4, so the trip to Houston was much easier and worth making for just a weekend.

My greatest culinary accomplishment came when I was trying to eat low carb this summer. I dropped about 7 to 8 pounds total this summer just from working out consistently and cutting out carbs for the most part. The first three weeks I attempted this, I cut out all carbs: bread, pasta, fruit, sugar (yes even in my coffee). It was SO hard. I love bread and cake and pasta...a LOT. But I definitely saw the results quickly. I went and bought shrimp at the big HEB in Temple because it was on sale and it sounded yummy. I peeled and deveined a pound of shrimp all by myself and made a shrimp and spinach salad with balsalmic vinegarette. Then I still had half a pound of shrimp which I put in my freezer. A week or so later (when I was allowoing myself to eat one serving of carbs a day) I decided to use the rest of the shrimp. I also had several tomatoes. So, I thawed and seasoned the shrimp, cut up the tomatoes and sauteed them with a little olive oil and garlic. The tomatoes got soft and rendered a lot of tomatoey goodness, but still remained in tact. At the very end I added a splash of lemon juice and then tossed in the pasta that I had cooked. It made a lovely little dish!

I definitely missed my family as much if not more than I predicted in the last post I made. I missed watching scary movies with Mom and getting to drive with Olivia. But the three weeks I was at home in August I definitely made the most of. Other events of significance this summer:

1. I turned 21.
2. I navigated to downtown Houston (for a day Astros game) all by myself and didn't get lost or cut off in traffic.
3. I wrote a 22 page research paper about the conspiracy theories surrounding JFK's assassination.
4. I made a new friend.
5. I saved lots of money.

So I leave you with a line from one of my absolute favorite songs that reminds me of being a freshman in high school (a full 7 years ago): Tell all the Egnlish boys you meet about the American boy back in the States. The American boy you used to date who would do anything you say.

P.S. More to come...