Why do I have such an amazing forgetter? This is now at least the 2nd spring semester that I decided to load up on units thinking I was some kind of super-human and then fallen ill half way through only to fall suuuuper far behind. By now one would think that the phrase I tell plenty of my students "Remember, the TORTOISE won!!" would be a piece of wisdom that I could apply to myself, but apparently there are just days, weeks and months that I forget. Since January I have been so engrossed in my studies that I have not had much of a social life.. my husband is basically holding the house together, and when I am not at work, school, or in my home office, chances are you can find me in bed sleeping, or wishing I was.. Somewhere I still have some friends that remember my name. hahha! I have gotten little bugs here and there, but last week I got hit with a case of hay fever that basically knocked me on my butt. I went to the doctor to be certain the fire in my throat was neither strep nor tonsillitis, and was at that time told that I needed bed rest, fluids and to determine whether or not I could maintain my current stress levels. Spring break seems a million miles away, and midterms are creeping closer and closer by the hour. To say that I might be having a minor internal pity part would be pretty darn accurate. Thursday til Sunday with the exception of a couple of errands, my butt was in bed. I did nothing that required energy besides making tea and watching TV between naps. Monday morning, I rallied for the students I Beacon tutor, but by noon was worn out. Tuesday it was an all day bed day again, and then Wednesday I made a minor appearance before my voice decided it had had enough. So, here I am, contemplating my next move and wishing I had a second version of myself to remind me that if I end up dropping a class it is not the end of the world, that college is a marathon - not a race, and that the only person who says I have to finish by an imposed date is myself. The thing is, in the end, I know that this too shall pass. At some point in the future, I will forget about this moment and only remember the students that have meant so much to me this semester, the professor who said I should consider becoming a professor myself, and how I wore the same rain boots half the semester because it was such a wet winter/spring season. In the end, it was not the speedy hare that won, it was the persevering tortoise. Slow and steady is better than fast and burnt-out. Xo,
Michelle
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Spring is here! The fruit tress have blossoms, flowers are blooming, the seeds I planted a few weeks ago indoors have moved outside to enjoy the sunshine and get strengthened by the breeze. While I am in my office studying, I can hear my sweet husband working in the yard through the open window. And it dawns on me, lemonade sounds divine right now. Luckily, we have a tree with a good crop this year, so I decided to whip up a batch. Most recipes I have seen over the years call for specific amounts of ingredients, but I can never tell how much juice I will get, and would rather go by the ratio method. SO, because I don't use an exact recipe with cups and ounces of this and that, I am going to attempt to explain my method to you. Part of me wants to get all geek on you and talk about how the lemon juice is the limiting reagent, and stoichiometry and other chemistry yadda yadda, but I will spare you that... for today! Ingredients1 part lemon juice 1 part sugar 6 parts water Directions
Usually we take a mason jar and fill it with ice and pour the lemonade over the top. It's a perfect treat for a day of working in the yard or studying for countless hours. Xo,
Michelle I remember as a kid that our family would have birthday celebrations with aunts and uncles and cousins at the Old Spaghetti Factory. Back then my favorite was the spinach tortellini alfredo. Something about alfredo sauce just made me happy. Today, I mostly make my own alfredo sauce and because I have with celiac, eating out is no longer as full of adventures. Tortellini today is basically out of the question. Now, on the rare occasion that we do go to the Old Spaghetti Factory, I end up ordering the brown butter and myzithra. It is the perfect balance of nutty salty and savory flavors together. However, as a student money is tight and through trial and error I have been able to replicate almost perfectly the flavor the brown butter and myzithra dish. One of the secret that I employ is to make sure that the brown butter is added at the end. Initially, I started putting the brown butter all over the pasta; however coating it with butter seems to somehow make the flavor just not pop. IngredientsServes 4 8 oz Barilla Gluten Free Spaghetti 8 T unsalted butter 2 garlic cloves peeled and crushed (just whack it with the flat part of the knife, don't chop) 3/4 C finely grated myzithra cheese. Important: Because there is salt in the butter (even the unsalted variety has some), the cheese, and the water, make sure that your butter is unsalted. Believe me... unless you enjoy the idea of the saltiest meal you have ever had! I found out the hard way. Directions
We love to serve this with a large side of steamed broccoli or salad. It is perfect as a quick weeknight meal, but it also a crown-pleaser when we have company over.
No matter how you serve it, it's best when it is eaten with a serving of laughter and smiles. I don't know about you, but scholarship season has been happening for me with many of the deadlines completing on March 1st. Part of me initially thought that there was no way I would get awarded any of them, but eventually I had a sit-down chat with myself and explained that there was no way to know unless I tried. Throughout the process, I found that I had to really get in touch with, and own my story. People always say that who you are makes you different from everyone else. Most of the time it just sounds like a cliche, but when it comes to scholarships or applying for a job or any other new opportunities, if we do not own who we are we miss out! It's not easy to talk about the things that I tried to convey, things reserved only for those that are trusted. But the scholarship process forced me to really explore what makes me unique, the combination of life experiences that are uniquely mine. It’s not a competition or comparison, just owning it. To say that my life has been perfect and I grew up without any negative effects would be one big fat lie. I struggled. A forking LOT! I struggled being the kid in Kindergarten trying to enjoy recess when a classmate asked me what it was like to “have your daddy die”. I struggled with fitting in while wearing glasses, braces and a perm all at once. Oh, the 90’s. I struggled to be the one who got called out of class to talk to CPS because my mother had slapped me in the face on school campus where people saw it. I struggled with academics because of the chaos at home and an immune system that did not function at full force which made me miss a ton of class. I struggled with grown men propositioning me for sex as a teenager. Some of whom were my parents’ friends. I struggled to understand why I was so underweight and got made fun of for being the “skinny girl” I struggled to make it look like I had it all together while I was falling apart inside. So, when it came time to write about some of the obstacles I have overcome in my life, I wondered how I could talk about any of that without sounding like a whining whiner. And then I remembered a time when I was in a group setting and told a small part of my story. After doing so, I had a man in a wheelchair tell me thank you for my honesty, because he “never knew pretty people had problems too”. No joke.. Exact words. That voice in my head reminded me that I know how to tell my story in a way that talks about the hope others can have knowing they are not alone in struggle. As I was writing, I focused on what I have learned from those experiences, not how I have been hardened by them, but instead the doors of opportunity they opened for me to become the woman I am today. Because without those experiences, I don’t know that I would care about some things as passionately as I do, and be as resilient and relentless and focused on building a better life. I don't know that it would be as passionate about helping other people who struggle, or find so much joy in explaining that it’s OK to be different. Most of all, I know that I do not have to be ashamed of my struggles. When I embrace them, own them, and let them be, I become a little more free to be uniquely me., The other day I was driving on the freeway and saw the licence plate in front of me. WHEN Nothing else. No bracket to give it context. Just one single word. And I thought.. how many times have I asked that question, or thought about it without much thought. "When?" - I know that I'm ___ and don't have a degree and it is on my bucket-list... I'll get around to it. When? - Someday when I .... then blah blah... - I'll be happy when I get to... Better yet.. Remember when...? "When" is one of those words that is the opposite of the present. It's about the past or the future. One of the things I have learned about life up to this point is that both the past and the future are futile places to live because we really have no influence over them. All we have is the present moment. We have NOW. Today. There is no way for me to express how grateful I am for that basic truth... The truth that there is no yesterday or tomorrow in the now. There is no resentment or anxiety in the now. There is just what is. ONE day. TODAY. That is all I have. When is not a question... When is not on the table... I am either living the life I want to live or I am not. I am following my dreams or I am not. Guess Yoda had a point... "Do or do not. There is no try.” Give TODAY all you have. It won't be enough for some, but don't live for the critics. Get your ass kicked doing all you can to be the best version of yourself, and enjoy every moment of it. Because, maybe that when we have been waiting for is never coming. |
AuthorI'm Michelle, and I've got a full plate! As a full-time dietetics student, step-mom, wife, study coach, and tutor in my late 30's, some days I'm barely scraping by. But, no matter what is on my plate, it's always gluten free! Categories
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