Food For Thought, Dreams, and Other Such Trite Nonsense

I know, that's a clever title there. OK, it's kind of silly. Moving on. I noticed something the other day. I don't know why, but in my brain I always had a very set and very vague plan for how my life was going to work. I was going to go to college, get married, get a job in my field, magically discover how to cook (I don't know if I thought that would be a product of marriage or moving away from home. More on cooking later), and live a life that honors God. Sounds good to me (actually, except for the marriage and magical cooking abilities, it's working out alright). Before you leave in disgust, this isn't going to be that kind of blog where I whine about being single. I just realized that if you asked me at age 10 or even 15 what my life would be today, I would have a very different idea, although in essentials I was on track

I was a little ambiguous about where the marriage would be in The Plan, but kind of placed it around this time in my life, if not a little before. This childhood ‘dream,’ for lack of a better word, presented a query to me personally as I got older: can I be a fulfilled woman, working to further God's kingdom on earth, and still be single? The answer I've arrived at is, resoundingly, yes. You can further God's kingdom and lead the life He wants you to whether you are single or married. I know this is a little silly and obvious, (I mean, I knew that, but sometimes you have to remind yourself of these things), but I've been thinking about it and wanted to share. This is the shortened version of my thought-train. (I actually said "train of thought derailed" on a tour yesterday, someone asked a question and I lost where I was. Oops).

The second part of my "what I thought" that didn't happen is that when I moved away from home I wasn’t magically blessed with the ability to cook. Shocking. Once I moved away from home, I realized my cooking skills where the same as they had been during my college years. Yikes. I no longer had the excuse of studying all the time, and I was determined to actually eat good things. This left me with only one choice (the Ring must be destroyed?). No, I must learn to cook. Oh dear. (Maybe I should just go with Frodo). Thus, the Great Experimentation Time began. (Tangent, if anyone has a favorite recipe, please send it my way. Preferably an idiot-proof one : ) Thanks!)

It has been said that in experimentation, sacrifice must be made. My first efforts, while tasty, where not pretty and I have yet to learn how to flip pancakes or French toast and maintain a toast-like shape. I have made some interesting looking food (burned eggs, burned pancakes, you get the idea). Don't judge me. But, it's coming, slowly but surely. Someday, I will be a passable cook. Reaching for the stars here... Perhaps the cooking fairy is on strike? I never needed to learn at home, my mom and sister are both great cooks, so I just slowly and meticulously peeled potatoes and observed.

But, on the bright side, while experimenting I discovered the real fairy dust of the food kingdom. No, it's not bacon as Jim Gaffigan claims; I'm going to say that it is cheese. No, hear me out. Cheese and green peppers. I mean, there are very few food that (to me, at least) cannot be improved by the addition of these two. Eggs, pasta with meat (ok, not peppers here), soup, salad... if you need a snack, peppers are great, if you just need a light mini-meal, crackers and cheese. But seriously, to me, cooking is like a giant experiment. I do have to eat what I make, so I need to make sure it at least tastes good (and there-in lies our first challenge, for Rohan is weak and, ready to fall?) and for the most part I've done passably well.

Tangent: I hate being in a different state when people I love are in pain. It drives me nuts. I am very thankful that I can call home and get updates. Point of tangent: If you would pray for my grandma, she’s in the hospital with fluid on or in her lungs. She’s doing better, but they’re keeping her for a while. My grandma is also turning 90 this December, unless my math is off.

Also, brief update on South Dakota (which is the real purpose of this blog). South Dakota is warm as the blazes but still lovely. I've been giving solo tours for almost two weeks now and I still love my job. My coworkers are wonderful as are my bosses; the church I go to is also wonderful. That's kind of it, actually. I don't have much to say. Also, no ghost sightings (the house is supposedly haunted). I’ll keep you posted on that.

However, I do want to plug a few books. It's really nice to read books for fun and to not have to write papers on them. First, Fire Bringer by David Clement-Davies. It's like Bambi, only good. If you have read Bambi, you will understand. It's been called “Watership Down for deer." That’s not the exact quote, but close in essentials. Ok, it really is good. Secondly, I just finished reading Sorcery and Cecilia or the Enchanted Chocolate Pot by Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer. This was just amazing, and I highly recommend it! Also, Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine and The Lord of the Rings (Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, Return of the King and The Hobbit) by JRR Tolkien are being reread. All excellent.
With that said, I think I will leave now to go make lunch. Wish me luck.

(This post brought to you by the number 7 and the letter Q and an excessive number of LOTR quotes. And a little Brian Regan).