Racer 5 Ramblings

I've been thinking a lot about what we, as a society, have given up in the past fifty years. As a 28-year-old woman on her way to law school with a strong interest in sports, of course I am glad for the progression, in many people's minds, of what women can and can't do. Yet I can't help feeling that, in our pursuit to make women equal, we've lost some of the heart and soul of the household, and even the heart and soul of the community.
Last week I bought an iron, an ironing board, and a drying rack. For Christmas, my uncle gave me a sewing machine and lessons (last night I made a pillow-ten points if you guess what colors it is!). I have a mortar and pestle and a coffee grinder, but no bread machine. I'd venture a guess that I am in the minority, however. Most people want convenience.
Where does that convenience get us, though? We're losing both art and craft. We work so hard to buy accessories for our leisure time, but so much of our leisure time is spent trying to get ourselves feeling well. We buy, buy, buy what we used to create. And our items are disposable, so we don't teach ourselves the proper care for those items. In fact, even our homes are disposable, so the lack of care reaches our neighborhoods--we don't take the time to speak to neighbors, we turn a blind eye to the trash in the gutter, we don't know the names of the children down the block.
I realize we can't turn back the clock, and I don't think I'd want us to. I like that I can open a checking account or pursue a job in sportswriting or sit back with a beer with the boys. But I think it's time to start considering the changes that need to be made, not just in our own homes but in our society. It's time to go back to food--to gardening, to preparing, to canning and to preserving. It's ok to have someone stay home with the children; in fact, studies show it's optimal. Spending time hanging laundry outside, or chatting with a neighbor, or baking our own bread--these are the things that enrich our health, our communities, and our environment.
Our country is so focused on its unemployment rate right now that no one is thinking outside the narrow box of job creation. What if we stopped demanding McMansions and three cars per family? If we could grow some of our own food, if we could walk to the places we visit regularly, if we were able to care for our own children...well, wouldn't this reduce the amount of money needed by a family? Obviously I realize that there are families in our nation in desperate need of jobs. But if we keep failing to teach basic skills, this downturn is going to perpetuate a cycle of desperation. Let's step out of it instead. Learn to cook, learn to bake, learn to sew, learn to build, learn to mend. Learn something that will save a dime or two rather than focus on simply earning it.

Good Grainy Morning

Hello world. It's time to wake up. Probably past time to wake up. If you need help feeling energetic, or if you're seeking a way to not feel hungry before lunchtime, or if you're just feeling a craving for some tasty tasty waffles, I have found the solution:

Whole Grain Waffles (from Alice Waters' The Art of Simple Food)
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup whole grain flour, such as spelt, rye, amaranth, or other
2 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 cups milk
3 eggs
1/2 cup butter, melted

Combine the flours, baking soda, salt and sugar in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk and the eggs before adding to the large bowl. Stir til just combined. Then add the melted butter, make sure everything is stirred up, and ta-da! Well, you have to put them in the waffle iron (make sure you grease it) but after that, ta-da!
Actually, I made up the batter last night and refrigerated overnight. Most waffle batters are better if you let them sit for awhile, so I recommend this method. Then in the morning you just need to pour into a heated iron, which takes maybe five minutes, and ta-da! you have a healthy breakfast.
Serve with real maple syrup (that should be the only ingredient listed on the bottle) or sliced fruit or fresh whipped cream or whatever you like on your waffles.

"Tell me when you're ready at last to begin."

Oy with the poodles already.
As many of you have likely deduced, the procedure on Monday went well, so well that less than an hour after emerging from anesthesia I was feasting on a Burgermaster grass-fed cheeseburger and a caramel chocolate shake. Virginia Mason's customer service and ability to make a patient feel comfortable and relaxed deserves applause here, especially after my experiences at Tulane, when I felt as though they were wheeling me into the morgue for my laparoscopy. And the diagnosis of No Crohn's! was positive as well.
However, now I must step back into the spiral of guesswork, of wondering what it is I might have. And quite frankly, I think it's time to stop for a bit. Endometriosis seems consistent with my symptoms. I'm learning how to handle it and how to manage the pain. I'm convinced that anything else--including fatigue--can be handled through diet and exercise. Plus, $25 co-pays can be put to much better use, including inserts for high heels, a few rounds at Collins, or a pair of Villa sweats.
Tonight it's experiments in Indian food. And making dough. And softening chickpeas. And prepping for whole-grain waffles. And a bubble bath, please a bubble bath. With Koningshoeven Quad.
Recipes should start coming soon, now that the medical stuff is over for a bit.

Testing, Testing, One Two Three

This morning, I feast.
On crescents and cinnamon rolls from tubes.
Gotta say, these tasted much better five years ago, but the slightly sweet savory crescents aren't too bad. Enough fat and almost anything is tasty, right?
I started this new year on a diet so completely off from my own that it has made me grumpy and sleepy and who knows what else. It's a low-fiber and non-dairy diet, hence the processed foods. After this feast of white flour, I start 24 hours of liquids only, which is why I plan to lock myself in the bedroom with only books and DVDs so that I do not inflict crankiness upon the general public.
No, I'm not doing this because I decided I needed a nice cleanse to start off the new year. Tomorrow I head to the hospital for more tests, this time to determine if I have Crohn's disease. Which doesn't sound fun. I'm trying to avoid thinking about it. I certainly haven't looked up what the diet restrictions would be because it might break the heart of a foodie. Instead I'll sit here with my coffee (including some forbidden cream) and stare at the Sound and remind myself that even if it's painful, I'm still alive, and this coffee still tastes good. And hey, beer's a liquid, right?

GOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAL

Ugh, New Year and all these earnest resolutions. Aren't they just there to be broken? Yet at the same time, the flipping of the calendar (and the decade) does create a natural space for contemplation. Although 2009 was a marked improvement over 2008, there are still some areas to polish up. So here go my goals:

GOAL: Finish first semester of law school in top quartile of class. Oh, I guess first I would need to choose a law school.
GOAL: Walk the Eugene Half-Marathon on May 2nd. And finish.
GOAL: Create weekly meal plans and stick to them to save money and be healthier and keep the house a bit more sane.
GOAL: Leave the country
GOAL: Be a better sleeper. You laugh, because you think I sleep all the time, but it's never a restful sleep. I need practice because I lack natural talent.
GOAL: Wear a white tank top by July 4th...a strange goal I know, but last July 4 I saw my arms and it spurred me into action.
GOAL: Be one of the top 25 females most knowledgeable about beer...at least, according to ratebeer.com. That's good enough for me.
GOAL: Learn to cook Indian food. I can shovel in the Indian food until I explode but I've yet to learn to make it myself. Uh oh, tummy rumble.
GOAL: Read sixty books this year. I keep track at Good Reads (and if anyone else wants to join up, by all means, as it makes the site more interesting)and I read 57 books in 2009. I would prefer to up it by a bigger margin but there's a rumor that law school involves lots of reading.
GOAL: Own claret and blue shoes. Because I can't set a goal for Villa's GOALS. So I'll need to be content with my Prepared shoes.